Chin Up, Buttercup
by themostcleverandwittyname
Summary: The effects of Sephiroth and his destruction have inspired the Shinra to build bigger, better weapons just in case. The last straw is bullying other towns out of their land for new power facilities and AVALANCHE wants to put an end to it. But what better way to combat new Shinra technology than with a mechanical engineer who needs a vacation. (Cloud/OC)
1. Sick and Tired

**[[****This fic is based on the original ffv7 game and the film Advent Children. It's set one year after Advent Children and I am ignoring the events of Dirge of Cerberus. At the time of posting this, the FFV7 remake has not come out yet so it will not have the chance to influence my writing or characterization yet. That may change later, but for now, that's how it is. I hope this clears things up lol]]**

The humidity hung in the chilled autumn air, carrying with it the dread of stepping outside in the early dusk light. Like a well oiled and worn down machine, whose gears were ground into rounded nubs, the dark-haired girl hesitantly stepped out from her humble living arrangement into the silent street. As much as she wanted to lay in her bed and stare at the ceiling, she knew she needed her job, even if there was nothing she wanted more than to run off into the horizon and reject the concept of currency. Each wobbly stone in the street under her boot was a sad little reminder that she couldn't run off and her hours today would be fixed behind a desk, smiling through her sleep-deprived stupor.

The one good thing about working at an inn was the free breakfast and coffee.

The lights of each house and business in the close-knit town were all off. Locals wouldn't dare stir this early in the fall and even the local farmers were done for the season. Some lights in the town would never turn back on, as the owners had either been drawn by the promise of benefits and left, or sold their estates to the Shinra corporation. Slowly, the life of the town was dwindling and the local businesses had to either hold tight and struggle or die out and be forced to move and sell their properties. It was a dim time in the town of Kalm, but what could she do? What could anybody do?

The lights of the Kalm Inn lobby were stronger than the low light of the rising sun behind the town walls and the openness of the entrance to the town was almost tempting. She could keep walking, right past the inn. It was so tempting. She stopped, however, at the wooden doors and pushed her way into the warm lobby. The faint tick of the grandfather clock greeted her in a mocking tick-tock that she knew would be mind-numbing by the end of the day. While it looked old fashioned and the owner argued that it added a "homely touch" she still would have argued that a silent, digital clock would have been better. She even offered to make one, but the owner refused.

No one around here appreciated her ideas so she gave up and kept it to herself. All of her discoveries and passions were reserved for her bedroom in the late hours of the night. At least, they used to be. Now she sneaks projects into the inn and works on them in secret when the day is at it's slowest. It's not as if anyone pays much attention and her projects could be hidden behind the desk easily.

Sighing, she placed a small bag down, which contained her half-hazard put together lunch and her current project. She debated sitting down and waiting for her coworker to arrive before starting with the free complimentary breakfast that the inn provided, but she determined that getting it over with would be in her best interest. Besides, she was not in the mood for complaints from guests that the food wasn't up to standard and oddly enough her coworker's help always ensured those kinds of complaints.

Heading to the back, she made sure the first preparation was the coffee, for her own good. In the silence of the absent kitchen, she let her mind go blank as she poured her first cup of coffee and began pulling bagels and pastries out to set on display in the small dining room. She heard the front door squeak open and she rolled her eyes. So much for a silent morning, she thought.

"Stella, did you see those Shinra soldiers out there?" his voice was familiar but his question caught her off guard. She looked over her shoulder to see him in the doorway, tying an apron around his waist, his brown bedhead matched his hazy expression.

"Shinra soldiers? No, what are they doing here?" she asked, not expecting him to know but still getting the point across that she hadn't seen them. He shrugged and yawned, his hand guarding his face.

"Beats me. I was watching Penelope strut by and happened to see them near the bar. I hope they're not hoping for it to open anytime soon." he gave, making his way over to the counter. "Started the sausage yet?" he asked and she shook her head. At least he wasn't trying to make the eggs again. He seldom messed up sausage but she was convinced that he could somehow still manage it.

"No. I'll do the eggs." She offered and sighed, "I bet those blueberries are going to want a room. They're so messy, they always leave the rooms in a shamble." she groaned, pulling a carton of fresh chocobo eggs from the old refrigerator.

"Man, it's too early for this. That's exactly what they're going to do." the brown-haired guy whined out, pouting a bit. He was in charge of the custodial work in the inn and if the Shinra soldiers did decide to stay for the evening, he would have a terrible time the next day cleaning the room.

"Maybe we could convince the bartender to close for the evening so it will be less of an issue. It's the alcohol's fault most of the time." she gave, hopeful, cracking the eggs into a large mixing bowl before pulling a whisk out. Her coworker nodded.

"Yeah, I wish. It would make it somewhat easier and you wouldn't have to deal with them losing the keys all the time." he reminded her and she felt the dread set in. It would be a pain to get the soldiers to pay for the lost keys, as they always felt entitled to be let go of consequences for their positions. She didn't care a bit about who they were, a policy is a policy and she didn't want to get fired for it. Stupid blueberry military brats. She put her aggression into whisking the eggs.

"Oh man, this is going to be a long day, Damien. I can feel it." she muttered, already feeling defeated.

"Agreed." Damien said, a rich sizzle from the sausage filled the silence as they continued preparing for the breakfast. Damien wasn't the best coworker, but he wasn't the worst either. She could complain to him and he would complain back. He wouldn't tell on her when he caught her working on her projects on the clock. She wouldn't tell when he would take naps in the custodial closet.

Despite this, she still went home right after work and never wanted to visit him or spend any time with him after her job was finished. She saw enough of him during the day and all she really wanted to do was go home. It had been this way for a few years, since her closest friend had moved away and since her family took jobs elsewhere. She always had an open invitation to Midgar, and it was something that she would have loved when she was younger, but now she saw no point.

Stella didn't want to live in Midgar. She didn't want to live in Kalm. She didn't really want to live anywhere if she was honest with herself. Knowing she was in a funk helped her at first, but her funk had lasted a few years. Ever since the meteor came. Ever since the outbreak. She couldn't see a point in trying anymore. Not when everything could cease to matter within a moment.

The harsh ding of the front desk bell pulled her from her silent musings and she inwardly groaned, placing the whisk to the side. The first ding of the day and it was no doubt the blueberry soldiers from hell.

She should have kept walking right past the inn when she had the chance.

* * *

The midday sun did little to warm the air, which in normal circumstances would have been moderately chilly. The wind whipping around him was like shards of glass on his face and neck, his eyes stung from the cold. He was grateful for the long, leather coat he wore, but at this speed it didn't help as much as he needed it too. The warmth of the engine helped a little, but not even his bike was enough. The quicker he got to Kalm, the better. He could warm up at the inn and maybe sneak away from the group to get a drink at the bar.

It had been a while since Cloud had seen everybody back together again and as much as he would love to touch bases, he didn't like the circumstances. Just when he finally obtained something like a normal routine, a normal living, something had to come up. When AVALANCHE convened, it usually followed an urgent need and this time was no different. Getting the phone call from Barret was a surprise and he wasn't sure that it was a good surprise. He would always help his friends when they needed him, he would drop everything again and again but it didn't mean that it was something that he was always happy to do.

He was sick of the Shinra. He was sick of the Turks. He was sick of everything and yet both of them had a great way of involving him. It gave him even more of a reason to help out, to try yet again to stop them in their tracks. Their persistence was almost admirable, but they had crossed the line. Buying up land and scaring people off their own property, having the Turks take care of anyone who opposed them. He knew the Shinra would expect AVALANCHE to retaliate again and that's why they had to be more careful this time. They didn't have the advantage of secrecy or surprise this time. The Shinra would be anticipating their next move.

Looking over his shoulder yet again to make sure there was no one following him in the distance, he cut his eyes back to the road ahead. He was getting closer and closer to the town, the tall, white brick walls surrounded Kalm and protected it from the outside. It must be a nice place to live. He had made a few deliveries there and his visits were always warm. It was the perfect place to meet and discuss what AVALANCHE's first plan of action was.

He'd meet up with Tifa, who left earlier that morning to get a room at the inn. He was surprised that she hadn't tried to call yet, but she knew he didn't answer his phone when he was driving. He'd lost too many phones doing that. It didn't stop her from calling while he was riding. He knew for certain that Cid and Barret would be there, as they were traveling together, but he didn't know who else. Barret didn't tell him who all he had called but it didn't matter. Cloud would find out eventually.

He hated being out of the loop but he didn't have to be for long. He let go of the throttle and let his bike slow from its usual, breakneck speed as he got closer to the town.

For better or for worse, this was the start of another journey and it was one that he was already sick of.


	2. Customer Service

Stella really regretted not trying harder to sleep last night.

With such a bad headache, she wasn't sure how she would get through the second half of the day. It was lucky that the inn hadn't had a ton of guests and there were only minor inconveniences. A family who had already checked out argued with her for half an hour before they finally paid for their key, Damien had already taken an impromptu nap when she needed him, and yes how could she forget the Shinra soldiers who were doing who knows what to their room before the local bar opens. These particular three men, however, were quieter this time and weren't loudly causing a ruckus in the lobby as the soldiers of the past had. She didn't question it too much and instead tried to forget about it.

There was another woman who had checked out a room for several people, but she was polite and quiet, leaving a list of people to allow access to the room.

With business at a crawl in the early afternoon, the dark-haired girl took advantage of the empty desk in front of her. She zoned out and pulled her project from her bag. She knew it wouldn't help with her headache, but she indulged in it anyway. She pulled out the rounded, metal shell to her latest idea. She pulled all of the components out and ran a few tests to make sure her coding worked. She shook it first, using a small light at an output to test the motion sensor and then tested it again with the actual rotation device. Just as she hoped, the device spun with a shake and she could continue with the finishing touches.

With it almost finished, she planned to use it later on in her back yard to see how well it worked. Screwing pieces of it together, it was beginning to take shape. The very last thing she would attach is the circuit she built and she had just begun to do that when…

_Ding! _

The sound caused her to jump in her seat, and when she did, she happened to lower her screwdriver right onto her open circuit. A bolt of electricity shot through her and she was tossing the screwdriver to the side before she could process what happened. Her hand burned and tingled, but it wasn't the worst shock she had gotten. Muttering a swear under her breath, she blinked and looked up over the counter to see a man with the messiest blonde hair she had ever seen. He looked from her to the screwdriver on the ground, his face was tinged a shade of pink from the cold air outside. He carried a large sword on his back and the collar of his long, black leather jacket was flipped up against his neck. He had the look of a soldier, of someone who fought a lot and it wasn't just the sword he carried. It was his stance and his sharp expression as if he was angry for having to breathe.

She didn't like this. Customers with weapons tended to be a hassle, especially with weapons as big as that. She couldn't count how many holes were put in the ceilings or walls by patrons, but there was still no rule against it. She might as well make a mental note to tell Damien to go buy some plaster to fix the wall later.

"Um… I need to know which room my friend booked. Her name is Tifa." He gave, looking off towards the staircase. His voice was low and soft, contrasting his outward appearance. She sat up in her chair and cleared her throat, project forgotten.

"Yes, of course. She left me with a list of names. You'll have to tell me your name before I disclose what room your friend is. It's our policy." She said, giving her best fake smile and cheery customer service voice. Pulling the small notepad close, she waited for the man to tell her. He gave her a strange look, but gave his name regardless hoping to get it over with.

"Cloud." He muttered and it was then that she noticed something familiar and somewhat alarming. The man's eyes gleamed in a telling way, the blue color his eyes glimmered brighter than any normal person's eyes could. She frowned and looked down at the paper.

"Lucky you." she gave flatly, sliding the paper away. "She's in room number three. I will be right here if you have any questions or concerns. I hope your stay is pleasant and inviting." she recited from too much practice, the words flowed out as if she were breathing. He lingered there for a moment before he placed his hand on the desk.

"Wait a second, I need a key." his request was one she heard too many times. She pressed her lips together to be the bearer of what some customers considered horrible news.

"An additional key will cost you five gil." She again recited, expecting some kind of argument or frustrated groan. To her relief, he said nothing and pulled a wallet out from under his coat. It was then that she noticed the materia slotted into his belt. It was as if the day couldn't get any worse. He handed the notes over to her and she counted them, reaching under the desk to find the spare key drawer.

"Here you go, one additional key. Please note that a lost key will be a fee of 10 gil, so do your best to hang onto it." She stated, her memory tainted by the yells of customers who were outraged to have to pay the fee. She held it out and the blonde took it, his gloved hand curled around the key.

He muttered a thanks and was about to be on his way, taking a step towards the staircase before she opened her mouth. It was probably best to not say anything, but it _was_ the policy of the inn and she could handle another customer's outrage at having to pay for damages.

"Just a moment, sir!" She said and mentally kicked herself when he turned back to give her a look. "We have another policy here that I need to make sure you understand." she began and he crossed his arms, waiting for her to continue. She couldn't back out now and maybe it was for the better.

"Kalm Inn is in no way responsible or liable to personal property damages caused by materia related accidents and we would like to inform you that any property damages to the inn caused by materia will be made out to the renter responsible." She finished and gave a fake, sweet smile. The blonde man sighed and pressed his fingers into his temple, giving her a tired look.

"Wow Stella, why are you messing with people?" A voice asked from behind her. She cast a glare over her shoulder at her coworker, a cleaning rag in his hand. What was he teasing her for? If anyone hated cleaning up after materia, it was Damien.

"Messing? I'm not messing at all. That _is_ the policy and everyone needs to be aware of it!" she insisted through her teeth. She turned back towards the blonde customer. "That is our policy and I hope you understand it. Nothing personal, just doing my job. We don't want another fire." she rushed and snapped her fingers at Damien with a glare, pointing at the back of the inn as a silent command. She was expecting disagreement from the brown-haired guy, but the customer spoke instead.

"You're worried about me starting a fire? I'm the one you're worried about?" he accused, his hand fell from his head to motion at her project setting on the desk. That was a fair point. She was working with high voltage when she was supposed to be watching the desk but… it was different.

"You have a point but I know that I'll have to pay for damages. It's just my job to share the policies." she made the same point and watched as the man shook his head and decided he had enough. He turned away and left the desk, his frustration apparent. Finally.

Once he had disappeared up the stairs, her coworker slapped his hand on her shoulder. He looked over the counter again to be sure that the man wasn't coming back before he said anything.

"Did you see that guy? He was bad news! He had to be in SOLDIER. You can't mess with people like that, Stella. We're always joking about the blueberries, but he's…" he trailed off into a whisper. "He's a blackberry." his concern was real and Stella had noticed it too. She knew she shouldn't have said anything, but she was sure no one would threaten her. No Shinra soldiers in the past had done her any harm despite heated exchanges and she didn't think that it would start today.

"Yeah, I noticed his eyes too, but I'll be fine. Just let me do my job." she shrugged his hand off her shoulder and bent down to pick up the screwdriver she had tossed. He tsked and disappeared into the back, leaving her to recall where she had been on her project.

Stella didn't let herself zone out as she had before, keeping her ears sharp. If she heard the approaching footsteps of anyone, she would snap her attention up. She wasn't on edge, no. She just needed to keep a better eye on things and make sure she didn't hear any suspicious noises from upstairs.

The ticks and tocks of the grandfather clock was her gauge for how quiet it should be as she once again worked on finishing up her project.

* * *

The room was warm and inviting and he was surprised to find his friend curled up on the bed, taking a mid-day nap. Perhaps Tifa had laid down for only a minute to rest and had fallen asleep or maybe she intended to have a nap. It explained why his phone wasn't blown up with calls when she arrived at the inn and he was more than okay with that. Tifa worked so hard all the time, so he didn't want to risk waking her. She deserved her rest and Cloud wanted to make sure she got it.

He tried sitting silently in the room for a while, staring out the window and into the streets of Kalm, but he got restless too easily. As much as he wanted to enjoy the warm comfort of the room, he didn't think he could stand to sit around for much longer. Besides, he remembered that the bar across the street had really good food and it was calling his name.

Taking each step with care, Cloud snuck from the room and closed the door behind him. The small area outside the rooms was dimly lit and had a small mirror hanging in front of the staircase. Taking a step down, he paused when he heard the innkeeper on the first floor say something in an exasperated tone. What was she going on about this time, he wondered?

"The answer is no! I'm not allowed to tell you other information about the other guests here. That's just my job." It was her for sure, but what she said gave Cloud a sick feeling. Who wanted to know the other guests. Had someone followed him? Had someone followed Tifa? The next thing she said, this time was alarming.

"Put that gun down! I'm not changing my mind." Her voice was sharp and tough, but not convincing enough. If someone had a gun pulled and was demanding information, he had the distinct inclination that it was exactly who he thought it was.

Cloud took a few steps down the stairs and peered over the guard rails. Just as he suspected, three Shinra foot soldiers in their full uniforms were standing in the lobby. One had his gun drawn, the other two were standing back and letting the other one do the talking. The innkeeper was standing up at the desk, her arms folded. Her dark hair was now pulled up in a bun as opposed to when he first saw her when he walked in.

In the lobby, the brown-haired guy who was also at the front desk before now peered out at the soldiers from a supply closet. He was hiding and held the door close to its casing in case he had to shut it quickly. The coward looked up towards the staircase from where he hid, locking eyes with Cloud. His eyes widened and the man pointed up at Cloud.

"There he is! That's the one you're looking for!" He shouted and the innkeeper and three soldiers all snapped their eyes up to Cloud. Great.

"Damien!" the innkeeper snapped, her mouth hung open in shock and anger at her coworker.

Cloud didn't have much time to debate running back up the stairs to wake Tifa or taking on the soldiers before the one with the gun aimed at him. Just in time, he whipped his sword out from over his shoulder and held in front of him as a temporary shield. The gunshots exploded and echoed in the lobby accompanied by the metallic pings of the bullets hitting his wide blade. His decision was made. He was going to stop the three soldiers here so that they didn't run for back up. The gunshots would be enough to wake Tifa.

He grabbed the guard rail and vaulted over it, using his fall to swing into the first soldier, who held his rifle up to catch the brunt of the swing. It was the wrong move for him, as the gun was split in half, the sparks off the metal barrel flared out and fizzled away. Cloud used his closeness to the soldier to elbow him in the face, knocking his metal helmet off. In the time he had taken to attack the first, the other two had drawn their rifles and were moving around to circle him.

Not waiting for anyone to make the first move, he grabbed the helmet and flung it at one soldier, making him stumble back, and was already on top of the other one, using the side of his blade to push him off his balance. The soldier without a helmet lunged into Cloud's side, knocking him against the side of the front desk counter. Both on the ground, Cloud slung his arm over the man's head and locked him in his grip, shoving the handle of his sword into the man's skull. Like a dead weight, the man fell limp on top of the blonde and he hastily shoved him away. One down, two to go.

He used the desk to pull himself up, steadying his blade in his hand. One soldier had taken position in the back of the lobby, taking aim at Cloud while the other rushed him. An object flew over Cloud's shoulder from behind the desk, thudding weakly off the soldier in the back. It was… a stapler? Cloud sidestepped the charging soldier and held his blade up again to shield himself from the bullets from the second soldier. This time, he stole a glance at the front desk, where the innkeeper was ducked behind, rummaging around for something to throw.

He shouldn't have looked, because he didn't see the first soldier pull his rifle over his head from behind, baring the gun against his throat. He pulled back from behind Cloud, choking him and pulling him down, but Cloud knew what to do. He too pushed back, shoving the soldier against the front door and pinning him there, using his weight to bash the man against the wooden door until he dropped his rifle.

The soldier in the back of the lobby once again pointed the barrel of the gun at Cloud, but this time he didn't have time to struggle to bring his sword up. His plan was to jerk around and use the soldier clinging to him as a shield, even if that was risky, but he didn't have the need to. The innkeeper threw another thing from her hiding spot, but this was no stapler, paperweight, or waste bin.

The metallic ball flew through the air and spun out a wire mesh in all directions, like a trap for animals. The soldier looked up and dropped his aim as the mesh clung to him, the wire folding around his metal helmet as if it were magnetic. He dropped his gun and took a step back, even if nothing seemed to be happening. After a moment, however, a blinding light and a sickening crackle erupted from the mesh, each strand glowing a hot blue. The electricity arced and surged over the soldier. The man couldn't even scream. As soon as the blue light faded, the man fell over, steam rolling off his body.

The soldier behind him squirmed away and stumbled to the side, pulling his rifle up. Cloud prepared himself, but it wasn't him that the man aimed at. Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger and the bullet pierced through the woman's shoulder, sending her falling back. It was a low blow, a cowardly move to shoot a person not involved in this.

Cloud jumped forward and swung his blade up, knocking the gun into the air. Bringing the blade back down, he bludgeoned the last gunless soldier on his neck and took advantage of the man trying to duck away as the opportunity to knee him in the face. He fell over curling up on the ground before Cloud delivered a quick kick to his face. He fell against the wall and stayed motionless.

Looking around, he surveyed the damage. The two soldiers he knocked out were crumpled on the carpet of the lobby floor, the first guy's nosebleed being the only real scratch or mark visible yet. They both would be fine, but the other guy Cloud knew was gone. No one steams after being electrocuted and gets up afterward. The sound of someone rushing down the stairs caught his attention and he looked up to see Tifa, her eyes wide.

"I take a nap for an hour and you've already gotten into trouble." she observed, looking over the railing at the three motionless men. "Are you okay?" she asked, even though she could see he was fine.

Before he could answer, a voice called from behind the front desk.

"Damien!" she yelled, her voice strained. She was leaning against the doorframe that led to a room behind the front desk, her hand cupped over her shoulder. Her eyes were squeezed shut, her shirt was soaked on one side with bright red, her hand doing little to stop the flow. Tifa continued down the stairs and stepped over the fried soldier, who was still steaming.

The supply closet door opened, and the brown-haired man peaked out, his eyes wide and troubled. The one who ratted Cloud out. He stepped out carefully, looking from the fallen men to Cloud and Tifa, his hands pressed together. He stood there as if deciding whether or not to go back into his hiding spot or help his friend, but he dipped his head and rushed over to the front desk.

"Oh no, oh no Stella. What are you gonna do?" he asked, placing his hands over his mouth, stepping in place with nervous energy. Cloud watched and gave Tifa a look before fastening his sword back in its place on his back.

"What am I going to do?" she asked, slumping against the wall. Her voice raised in desperation and pain "I don't know! Don't just stand there and stare at me! Go get the doctor!" she yelled and the man jumped and spun around in a frantic dance, going out of his way to avoid Cloud as he shoved through the front door.

Tifa had made her way over and jumped over the front desk, bending down to where "Stella" was propped.

"Oh dear, they got you. Can you stand up? We'll help you out." Tifa said before turning towards him, "Cloud, go check the supply closet for some towels or something to stop the bleeding." He snapped out of it. He had just been gawking when he could have been helping.

"Right." he confirmed and strode over to the closet, finding a stack of fresh hotel towels. He grabbed two of them and took a step back, a crack sound crunched from under his boot. Looking down, he had stepped on a piece of the wire contraption that Stella had thrown. He recalled her working with something at the desk. This had to be it. She had to have made this. He has never seen anything like it before and it took out that soldier in a second.

Remembering that he had towels to stain, he rushed back to the desk and handed the towels over to Tifa, who took them with haste and pressed them into the dark-haired woman's wound. He too hopped over the counter, kneeling down to the woman's level. His current question needed to be answer

"Did you make that contraption? Was that what you were working on?" he asked and the woman looked over at him, taking her eyes off her blood-soaked shirt. Her brown eyes squinted at him and she frowned.

"What, do you like my fire hazard now?" she asked sarcastically and looked over at Tifa, who was wrapping the towel around her arm. "Yes, I made it. Why are you asking? I don't have any more to sell." she breathed out, her sarcasm left her voice.

"Cloud, is this a good time to be asking this?" Tifa asked, looking over at him. He didn't blame her for being confused, but he needed that contraption, whatever it was. He was willing to buy it. He rummaged through the small pouch on his side and pulled out what he was looking for. A small, green ball of materia. This one was rare and it was lucky that he had it with him. He held it tightly in his hand and leaned over the woman. She gave him a distrusting look and tried to jerk away, wincing immediately.

"Stop squirming, I'm helping you." he muttered and held his free hand out over her. Green whisps swirled around his hand, pooling in the air and coiling down towards the woman. Tifa leaned back and took her hands away from the towels to allow the magic to spread over the woman. She closed her eyes and looked away as the magic got more vivid, glowing brighter until it faded.

Cloud pulled his hand away and put the materia back in his pouch. The girl peeked her eyes open and looked down, giving her shoulder and experimental roll. She gasped and pulled the towel away, sitting up against the wall. Her shirt and the towels were still soaked red, but the bullet hole showed her unaffected, healed skin beneath. She reached her hand up and prodded it, stunned that she was no longer wounded. Cloud stood up from his kneel and Tifa placed her hands on her knee and stood up too. She leaned towards him and whispered.

"Cloud, you could have told me you had that with you before I tried to stop her bleeding." her point was good and he hadn't thought of it like that. He gave a small smile as if to say sorry. She shook her head and they looked down at the woman, who was still sitting on the floor in her shock.

"If you feel better, I want to talk to you."


	3. In a Pickle

The warm atmosphere of the cozy and broken in bar was anything but comfortable in this moment. Silence hung between her and the two inn patrons who had flipped her day on its head, the only noise was the television and the clinking of plates and silverware in the small dining space. The two had led her to a booth in the far back of the familiar bar to talk over who knows what.

She still wasn't over the searing, dull pain of the gunshot wound, her hand kept moving up to feel her shoulder to be sure it was gone. Damien had returned with the medic, but it was unneeded. He lent her his shirt for the meantime, her clothes soaked with her own blood. Whoever the two in front of her were, they were dangerous and they meant business. Too scared to tell them to leave her alone, she obliged to coming with them across from the inn to have a "talk", whatever that meant. She was certain that the blonde was going to hold healing her over her head to try to get something out of her. He was interested in her little project she had been working on, and she was anticipating him asking for her to make more.

She didn't want to be involved.

The woman, who introduced herself as Tifa, Stella had no clue what to think of as she seemed sweet and quiet. However, Cloud was most definitely part of SOLDIER and that was terrifying to her. There was no way with the way he fought those Shinra soldiers without a scratch on him that he wasn't.

"So, it's Stella, right?" Cloud spoke up, pulling his soda close and taking a sip through the straw. She didn't answer and resorted to looking down at her lap, her hands clasped together as she fidgeted. There was a drawn out silence as he waited for her response but continued anyway.

"That contraption you made, it took down that soldier in seconds. Did you know it would do that?" he asked another question and Stella nodded, her eyes still on her hands.

"Yes. That was close to ten amps of current. If he hadn't died, he would be severely burned." she whispered, closing her eyes.

She had really done that. She had really killed a man with her invention. If they found out it was her, she'd be a criminal and she'd have to face the consequences. With friends like Damien, she would be ratted out in a second. She wanted to cry, but she was still numb. Still in shock. She wanted to leave behind her routine and step out of the mundane, but not in handcuffs.

"Do you make things like this a lot? Do you have others like that?" Tifa then asked, leaning forward. Stella looked up for a moment before she gave another answer, her own voice feeling foreign to her. She wasn't sure why she was answering these people, but she was going along with it anyway as if she were a kid in trouble with her parents.

"The other things I have are more developed." her hushed words came out and Tifa spoke again, her voice soft and encouraging.

"I know you're shaken up, but we both appreciate that you're talking to us, right Cloud?" she said and elbowed the blonde. He gave her a look and rubbed his arm. The brunette gave him a hushed whisper through her teeth but Stella still heard what she said. "She's upset and scared, maybe you should cut to the point." With her words, Cloud took a breath.

"Okay, look. Since you don't have anything but a prototype for that one contraption, I wanna hire you to make more for my team. Do you know how long that would take?" Stella looked up and decided to start her own questioning.

"Why do you need something like this? Someone like you…" She motioned at him, the first time her hands left the comfort of her lap. "Besides, it fried itself on use so it's garbage right now. I have no clue how long it will take to fix that quirk." she gave, waving her hand beside her as she talked. The blonde leaned forward and his eyebrows quirked in confusion.

"Someone like me?" He asked and Tifa rubbed her temples. Maybe that wasn't the best choice of words.

"Well… yes. Like you." She said, uselessly trying to wave better words to herself. "You can take care of yourself, with your background and all. I don't want to be involved in that." Her words came out and she cringed. It was really none of her business, but someone who was at some point involved in SOLDIER hardly needed a janky device made by a novice like her.

Cloud nodded and leaned back, sucking in his cheeks. He folded his arms over his chest and gave her a calculating look.

"Okay, I can take care of myself. It's obvious. So then why did you throw that device at that guard? Why not at me? Why at all?" His questions caught her off guard. She hadn't really considered it that way. She didn't know why she had chosen to help him instead of run away or hide until it was over. She made the decision in the spur of the moment and maybe she shouldn't have but it was what she did.

"Short answer, I'm impulsive." she shrugged and gave a nervous laugh. "I guess I have more of a personal beef with those Shinra blueber- I mean, assholes. I've never had a member of SOLDIER trash a room or yell at me for making them pay for a lost key. I couldn't just watch you get shot in my lobby. Not if I could help it." She finished and Cloud shot Tifa a look.

"You didn't help a member of SOLDIER today either. I'm not part of them, never was." he responded sharply, his eyes shut before he changed the subject. "That's not the point. So you have beef with Shinra? So do we. I have three thousand gil for you if you agree to help us."

Three thousand gil? That was over two months' pay for her. As much as she wanted to be tempted for the gil alone, she was put off. Who could trust two people who were against the Shinra. Everyone had some kind of grievance with the Shinra, but it was only super crazy people who did anything about it. Stella wasn't keen on being hunted down and "silenced" by the Turks. Horror stories had been told about it and it was always a cautionary tale from travelers and elders in the town. She didn't want to get involved but… she couldn't help but wonder. She had the slightest inkling of a clue as to who the two in front of her were working for. Still, she had to address the elephant in the room.

"Everyone has beef with the Shinra, but I'm in enough trouble already. Look, when they find out what I've done, I'm toast. I don't wanna get involved." her statement made the three linger in silence. The two looked at each other, as if having a silent conversation she couldn't hear. Tifa opened her mouth but Cloud spoke up before she could.

"You're already involved. I hate to say it, but the only way we can help you is if you decide to come with us. Maybe you can stay here and no one will figure out who killed that soldier but your buddy at the inn isn't the best at keeping his mouth shut, is he?" He stated, his words sounded like a threat but something made her feel like it was more of a warning than a threat. Maybe it was the way his brows pinched together in some understanding semblance of concern.

Of course, it could all be an act and he could very well be threatening her. She really had no clue and at this point, she had no real choice. They saw what happened and they didn't seem to be under the thumb of authority. They, whoever they were, didn't seem like they would rat her out but Cloud was right about Damien. He was a coward and wouldn't hesitate to tell on her. She didn't know what to do, but she had to know who she was dealing with. Already, she had her suspicions as to who would be in trouble with the Shinra, the ability to fight back without trouble a telling sign.

She stared at him, summoning the courage to ask. Dipping her head low and casting a look over her shoulder, she whispered to him.

"You say "we". Who are you exactly?" her question came out and the two looked at each other. Tifa nodded and Cloud gave her a knowing look. The brunette leaned in, placing her hand on the table.

"Have you ever heard of AVALANCHE?" she asked with a knowing smile.

Stella stared at her and looked to Cloud, who gave her an expectant gaze. With the mixed opinions that most people had with AVALANCHE, their reputation was a strong one for sure. Some people blamed them for the meteor and claimed they were a dangerous band of crazed misfits that were completely unhinged. Others claim with all their hearts that AVALANCHE were modest heroes and the only way the people's voice could be heard and enacted against the Shinra. Stella wasn't sure what to think, but she was inclined to be hopeful.

"Are you serious?" she asked, her voice lowered. "You better not be playing with me. I've had a bad enough day already." her warning held no heat and Tifa nodded in response.

"If you come with us, it'll be dangerous for you but all you'll have to do is make more of those. Cloud just thought that your invention would help keep our members more safe from a distance. We know you don't want to get involved and your job is important to you, but that's why we're offering to pay you. We understand if you don't want to put yourself into this situation, but we still want to give you a chance."

"Are you kidding, I hate my job. Today was the icing on the cake." she interjected and the brunette gave the man a victorious grin. "But… I didn't say that I've made any sort of decision. Three thousand gil is great but I..." she trailed off, a server dipped in from behind her, a plate balanced on the server's tray.

She set the plates down and despite being a face that Stella saw all the time, she had no comment on Stella's current company. She was gone as quickly as she came and there was a small period of silence as the two surveyed their meals. Tifa reached over and took a fry from Cloud's plate, unapologetically popping it into her mouth. He gave her a look and opened his mouth to retaliate before Tifa spoke up.

"But you don't know, right?" She gave, empathetic to Stella's thoughts.

"Yes, I don't know. I need to think about this, it's so much and I'm still not over what just happened. I think your intentions are...nice but I really can't see how anything I can make would be helpful. I don't think a single person wouldn't like the opportunity to get back at the Shinra but I'm already in trouble..." she trailed off and paused, an important thought came to her.

"How exactly are you planning on helping me, with this notoriety thing? If they find out it's me, how can you help that? You want me to come with you, you said? Where are you going?" she asked, having to slow herself before she overcame them with questions. She felt like her mind was spinning. Cloud grabbed a few fries and took a bite, answering through his mouthful.

"Well, you're in a pickle right now. It's just a matter of whether you wanna be in a pickle by yourself and hope for the best or be in a pickle with us." he gave unhelpfully, Tifa shooting him a look.

"Cloud." she scolded. He returned with a '_what did I do?'_ look and the brunette shook her head.

"What he means to say is that we'll protect you. I know you have a lot of questions, but we don't really know the answer to a lot of anything yet. We're still figuring everything out, that's kinda why we're meeting here. One of our buddies knows where we're heading next, but we don't know yet. If you're in, you'll find out when we do." Tifa mediated, letting her in on a tidbit that was extremely important.

She was indeed in a pickle.

"Oh that's just great. It's a wild goose chase, is that what you're telling me?" she asked, her exasperation beginning to show. Cloud nodded and Tifa looked down. "Okay, okay. I get it, I think. I don't know what I'm gonna do. I don't have an answer right now." she gave in a defeated whine, frustration and confusion mingling.

"That's okay. You have a little time to think about it. For now, you mentioned having other things more developed. Do you have any of that with you?" Cloud asked, rubbing his temple.

"Yes, I do have more things at my house." she answered, crossing her arms and letting her mind focus on her situation, still at a loss for what to do. She couldn't think clearly.

"At your house, huh? What if you go gather some things up and give yourself time to think alone. How does that sound?" the blonde suggested, for once a good voice of reason.

Removing herself from the situation would help tremendously. She could mull over it and decide for herself. If she decided to decline, she'd just lock her door and not answer them. It was simple enough. It was a good idea and she jumped at the chance.

"Yea, that's a good idea. I'll go do that. My house is two doors down and is the one with green shutters." she gave, pulling herself from the booth, feeling as if nothing was real.

"Just think about it, okay?" Tifa gave and Cloud looked down at his burger. He took it in his hands and Stella took that as her cue.

Her mind still raced as her feet took her from the bar and across the cobblestone to her house, the mid-afternoon sun warmed the air slightly. She had walked the same path this morning, feeling so much different than she did now. Now Stella had a new opportunity to go somewhere, to do something that mattered. No one had ever really taken any interest in her inventions before and now a group like AVALANCHE was invested in her work. It didn't seem real, it felt like a dream. She wasn't sure if it was a nightmare yet, but she knew she would be over her head whatever she did at this point.

Everything was about to change and there was hardly a chance that the Shinra wouldn't find out that she had killed one of their foot-soldiers. Especially one that was killed trying to take down a member of the group that competed with them most. She wanted to think logically, to wonder if the two strangers had lied to her about their position but it didn't seem probable. The way the blueberries were demanding to know where they were, having described both Cloud and Tifa with too much detail. The one soldier was ready to scare her into talking, pulling his gun on her. They wouldn't do that unless it was a big deal. It just wouldn't make sense otherwise.

As she approached the familiar door to her home, a small mew pulled her into the present. Stopping in her tracks, the familiar, scrawny black cat padded up, arching its back in a greeting against her leg. The cat's round amber eyes stared up at her expectantly, it's white whiskers twitching.

"Hello, miss Penelope." Stella cooed, a bit of her normal life greeting her with a purr. The cat was a stray that just came up one day and she had fed her for about a year. Stella could have considered the cat her pet now, as she had named her and let her cozy up in her house on cold nights. Opening the door, the cat streaked inside, tail held high. The lack of invitation suggested too heavily that Penelope was in fact her pet now, but Stella would still deny it as long as she could.

Stepping inside, she realized how much comfort her home brought her. She grew up here, her family still visited every once in a while and her dad stayed in the house during the summer when he wasn't manning a chocobo farm to the east. It was warm, cozy, and had a way of making her feel safe. Even with her current predicament, stepping inside and shutting the door was enough to clear her head. Penelope darted over to the kitchen, where she would often linger just in case she got the chance to steal Stella's lunch as she was making it or to snoop.

Watching her absently, Stella walked towards the back of the house that served as a mini garage, stepping down into the room that lead to the back door. There was no carpet present and the concrete floor was littered with half finished projects and tangled of copper wires, boxes of sensors, microprocessors, input and outputs motherboards, and arduino components, and a mess of tools and parts scattered on every surface. She had one shelf in the corner of the room that had a few things that were completed.

Sighing, she decided she would do a few more tests in the time she had to think. It would be easier that way and she wanted to make sure for certain what she had worked.

Taking a deep breath, she began her period of self reflection and pulled one of her finished pieces of tech from the shelf.


	4. Demonstration

The knock on the door came too soon for her liking.

She still hadn't straightened a thing out, but she did feel calmer. Pushing the work chair back, she left the test to run for the umpteenth time. So far, so good. There were no bugs or lag with the sensors in her finished contraptions and she was relieved that everything decided to work today. In a way, she really wanted this chance to show her hard work off even if she wasn't sure about following AVALANCHE yet. It was silly, but she still felt that urge.

Walking through the house, Penelope jumped from the back of the couch to curtains, hanging wildly for a moment. Before Stella could yell for her to get down, the cat lept to the side and ran across the room into the kitchen full speed. Classic. Rolling her eyes, she paused at the door. She could just refuse to open the door, yell for them to go away, and pretend this never happened in hopes that everything would turn out well for her. She could, but she'd never know what would have happened if she said to come in.

She took a deep breath to prepare herself and pulled the door open, the two familiar figures were now accompanied by two others. One was a larger, built man with darker skin, his complexion a little darker than her own. He had the shadow of some facial hair down his jaw. His eyes pierced hers and he folded his arms over his broad chest, a certain aspect about him was extremely unique. His right arm was divided at the elbow, the presence of a heavy-looking metallic mechanism took the place of his arm. From the looks of it, it was a weapon. A gun, most likely.

The other unknown visitor was a man smaller in stature and perhaps a bit older than she was. He had light stubble across his face and he chewed on the end of a cigarette, pulling it from his mouth and letting the smoke escape his teeth. His short blond hair was held back with some aviator goggles. He had a brown leather jacket and his hands were buried in the pockets of his cargo pants. He too scrutinized her.

Looking from Cloud and Tifa to the others she awkwardly pulled the door open wider, her expression was enough.

"Oh, yeah, um. These are our guys." Cloud cleared his throat and motioned behind him. "Barret," he pointed at the taller man before the other blonde guy, "And Cid. This is Stella. Better introductions will come later." He said and took a step inside, past Stella. Tifa followed and Barret after her. Cid took a moment, taking in a long drag from his cigarette before tossing the butt on the ground and stomping it. How nice, right on her doorstep. Once everyone had walked past her into her house, she sighed and closed the door, not entirely happy with the new company but what was she to do.

She turned on her heel and the four all looked around awkwardly. After a moment, Stella spoke up, rocking on her heel.

"So um… you guys want anything? Like, water or something?" she asked, mentally kicking herself. She didn't have company often and when Damien would visit, he'd go straight to the refrigerator and take what he wanted. Cloud stared behind her at something, but Cid spoke up before she could wonder.

"Yeah, you got any whiskey? Or tea?" he asked, his voice deep and gravely. He looked at her expectantly. She guessed she could make tea…

"We're not doing any of that. You don't need it. You can have tea at the inn." Barret spoke up, his voice was deeper than the other's. He tapped his foot impatiently.

A sound crashed behind her where Cloud had been staring, the distinct sound of glass shattering. Everyone flinched and she whipped her head around to see Penelope sliding on the tile, her feet pounding the ground frantic as she ran away from the plate she knocked onto the ground. She darted through the mass of legs standing in the living room and shredded up the couch. Everyone's eyes followed the cat and returned to her.

"Wow…" Cloud muttered. There was a dumb silence and Cid coughed.

"Ooooh-kay, let's forget that my cat is a maniac and let's get… cracking." Stella began and rubbed her face. Wow, she sounded like an idiot.

"Yes, cracking. Let's crack." Cloud said and Barret groaned out loud.

"Will you shut up?" Cid snapped, pinching his nose. Cloud looked over his shoulder and gave the man an offended look but didn't say anything. She didn't know if it was the onslaught of hysteria from her stress and anxiety at how awkward she felt or if the exchange was genuinely funny but she felt herself crack a grin.

Shaking her head to shake away the giggles she didn't want, she motioned towards the back. Taking the first step, the rest followed her to the garage and watched her as she made the first move. Taking the box of finished projects and taking the one she was testing from her laptop, she went for the back door, struggling to balance everything in her arms as she pushed it open, aware of everyone's eyes on her. Stepping from the dim garage and into the light of the fenced-in backyard, Stella set the box to the side and held up the one she had just tested. The four watched her, Barret looking bored as ever and the rest was simply patient, waiting for her to start, Tifa shutting the door behind her.

"Alright, show us what you got here." Cloud permitted, folding his arms.

"Okay, first one. This is what I have dubbed the pancake because it looks like a pancake." She began, holding the disk out. It was her newest creation before the taser net ball that she destroyed at the inn. It had a mess of red, green, and white wires that showed on the bottom and the coil in the center moved slightly when she tilted it about. It still needed some polish, but it was functional. Making sure the switch on the side was off, she smacked the bottom of it.

"This has an impact sensor on the bottom panel and when it feels an impact beyond a certain level of pressure, it activates. I have it turned off but I'll turn it on now." she explained, showing them as she flipped the switch, the small red light on the edge of the disk blinking. "The idea is that when I throw this and it lands on the ground, the impact activates the central coil and like a tesla coil, it blasts… actually, it's a long explanation. Just watch." she stopped herself, already getting bored with her own explanation.

She held it up for demonstration and tossed it out into the yard, watching as it landed on the grass as a safe distance. After a moment, the mechanism activated and long, whipping arcs seared out from the center, the bright blue charged and crackled sharply, heating the air even at the distance she was standing from it. The bright pulsing show was set to time out after five seconds for the sake of the contraption. The crackling ceased in a loud pop, the arcs fizzling away in the surrounding grass. The ground was seared and the dry grass was fried black.

Exhaling, she looked away from the pancake to gauge her visitor's reactions. Tifa had her hand over her mouth, Cid and Barret were both wide eyed, and Cloud was the only one moderately unfazed.

"So that's the pancake…" she trailed off, taking a few steps towards it, looking down to see that the coil was red hot, glowing from its use. Bending over it, she flipped the switch off and slowly brought up. "It releases a charged current of five amps of a low voltage for five seconds. This one can and could kill you after longer than five seconds, but five seconds is enough for major burns, serious damage to your heart and brain, and numbness." She gave with a smile. "So ouch, is what I'm trying to say." she finished and strode back over, placing the still hot pancake to the side. Cloud leaned over to Tifa and whispered something that she couldn't hear.

The demonstration had certainly gotten their attention and she pulled out the next one, a bowl shaped piece of tech that unlike the previous one showed no wires. This was a more polished model.

"This one comes with a warning. There are sun shades in the box, but I was not expecting more than two guests… so you'll have to take turns." She began, pulling a pair of yellow laser glasses from her pocket and placing them on her face. Cloud, peered over into the box, the first to reach down. He grabbed the two pairs of shades from the box and handed the other to Tifa. She took it gratefully and they both slid them on. The shades were a little small for Cloud's face and looked comical, the plastic flower on the frames didn't help any. "Um, you two without shades… you'll have to turn around until I tell you it's safe."

"Oh for fuck's sake, really? We can't see?" the blonde man asked, rubbing at the stubble on his chin.

"If you wanna go blind, be my guest." she retorted, earning a small chuckle from the tallest man. Barret went ahead and turned around, Cid giving her an insulted look before he caved in and turned around.

"Okay, my neighbors _hate_ this one so much. This one doesn't have a fun name, it's just an electrostatic field generator, or EFG for short. Can't always be creative. It's not activated by any sensor because it's too dangerous so I have a button for it instead." She began, Tifa and Cloud watching behind their shades.

She pulled the button from her pocket, the protective plastic shield lay over the top so it wasn't accidentally activated. Another thing she pulled from her pocket was a microwaveable bag of popcorn. She had really planned out this demonstration.

With no further comment, she walked to the farthest reach of her yard, still maintaining a nice distance from the wooden fence, she didn't want it to catch fire. Placing the bowl shaped hunk of metal in the grass, she placed the popcorn on top and jogged back over to the group. Adjusting her shades she added.

"Once I click this button, it will get the signal and have a three second delay before it activates… oh and it's loud so cover your ears." She warned. Holding up the button to show that she was about to press it, she pulled the plastic shield up. She gave them a pointed look and Tifa covered her ears. Cloud hesitantly did but the other two didn't. "Last warning, it's really loud." she called out.

She didn't cover her ears because she didn't want to let go of the button to do so. Besides, she was used to it and she was sure her neighbor was too.

3

2

1

An earth shattering crack exploded from the contraption, the sound itself was enough to rattle the ground. The searing, bright bolt swelled and disappeared as soon as it came. Hot ash fell from the air, the remains of the popcorn bag fluttered in little embers in the air. The popcorn itself was scattered in the grass. She pulled her laser glasses up to set on her head.

"You can turn around now." She called, flipping the plastic shield back over the button. Safety first. The two men turned around and Cid cursed under his breath. Tifa took the shades from her face and dropped them into the box, Cloud following her lead and tossing the small, girly shades with the others. Barret blinked and looked out to the embers, which were now more scarce in the air.

"That one sounded like an explosion." he observed, and swatted away a fleck of ash that had drifted over to the group.

"It was… in a way." Stellas gave, tapping her fingers on her arm. She'd have to let the contraption cool before she touched it.

"Where did the popcorn come from?" Cid asked, looking at the state of the grass, the popcorn littered everywhere. Oh right, he hadn't seen her place it down.

"From the ABC or whatever." Cloud spoke up, pointing out at the contraption. _ABC or whatever_… how insulting. What was worse is that Cid believed it and his look of confusion was regrettable.

"It makes popcorn? How is that useful?" he gawked, squinting at her work, still burning hot in the grass.

"The EFG does not make popcorn. I put the popcorn there to...ugh, nevermind." Stella shook her head before mentally resetting. "Anyway, that's all I have that isn't buggy or in prototype stage. Well, besides a pulse laser gun that's stable." she added, glancing over at the box

"Well, let's see it!" Tifa gave, the only one who seemed to be enjoying the "demonstration" if she could call it that. Taking a breath, Stella kneeled down by the box and rummaged through a few other devices that she brought out in preparation, all of which are fairly unstable. Through the loose wires, chips, and boards she pulled out a gun that had been heavily modified. Pushing herself back up, a shrill screech called from behind the fence.

"Miss Schwarz!" The elder yelled, yet again coming to scold her for experimenting in the back yard. She cringed at her last name being called, not wanting to have the same conversation.

"Shit, it's Mrs. Graham." Stella muttered. "Let's go inside and talk about this. This laser should be safe enough to talk about indoors." she gave with little certainty.

"That woman is calling you." Cloud observed, not getting the fact that she wanted to avoid her.

"I know so let's go inside. You don't wanna hear our conversation, trust me." Stella gave through her teeth, conscious of the fact that her neighbor knew she was outside. She wanted to get inside before Mrs. Graham pulled out her husband's step ladder to peer over the fence like she always did.

"Before we do, you said "should" be safe. It should be or is safe?" Barret asked, glancing down at the gun in her hand. Too late, the curly brown hair of Mrs. Graham peered over the fence. She had found the step ladder quickly this time. Stella sighed in defeat.

"It is safe. It'll be totally fine but nevermind going inside now." she groaned before calling out to her neighbor. "Mrs. Graham, how are you today?"

"You woke me from my nap with that terrible noise. Your experiments always wake me up!" she began. She always said the same thing when she came out to yell over the fence. Stella doubted she was actually taking a nap and if she was, perhaps the old woman's sleep schedule was even more messed up than her own. Stella sighed and looked to her guest, holding her index finger up to tell them to give her a second.

"Mrs. Graham, get off that step ladder! You're gonna fall and get hurt like last time! I'm sorry I woke you up but it's two in the afternoon." She called back and the woman's head bobbed over the fence.

"I only fell last time because that cat of yours bumped the ladder over." She scoffed, "Who are those fellows with you? You never have guests." she inquired, her interest returned.

"That's not my cat…" She corrected before looking at the "fellows" who watched on. "Um… these are… I'm starting an acapella group and these are my backup singers." She lied, ignoring the abashed look that Barret gave her.

"I don't believe that for a second! They look like a bunch of weirdos to me." She claimed.

"That's real nice. Why don't you get back to that nap now?" Her suggested rendered Mrs. Graham silent as she thought it over.

"Okay… Take care Miss Stella." she gave up and her head disappeared as she stepped down from the ladder. After a moment, the sound of her neighbor's back door shutting was her indication.

Stella turned her attention to the four. Cloud was rubbing his temples and Cid tapped his foot, arms crossed. There was a short silence as the awkwardness of listening on remained with the group. At least her neighbor wasn't as abrasive as last time.

"We'd make a great acapella group, huh Cloud?" Tifa joked, elbowing his side. He just shook his head.

"Yikes, sorry about that. She's always on my case. Neighbors, am I right?" Stella gave, a short nervous laugh followed. "Anyway, back to it."

"Good, I thought we were gonna start chatting about the weather." Cid snorted sarcastically, pointing at the laser gun in her hand. "Let's see that one."

"Right… This is a pulse laser gun. Instead of having a continuous stream of light like one of my other lasers, this one fires in charged pulses. It'll knock chunks out of metal and burn through wood or plastic. It also removes tattoos." She explained, turning the gun over in her hand. The safety was on, as yet again indicated by the soft glow of a small light. It glowed blue and would change red when the safety was off. A little precaution to prevent her from burning her house down.

"Can I see it?" Cid asked, holding his hand out. Normally, she would say no but giving the type of laser that this was, it wasn't a major threat. It was non-harmful to humans. Turning the grip towards him, she let him take and he turned it over in his hand, looking at the wires taped to the side.

"It's rough, but I see what you did here. This processor controls the delay on the output. Is this a green laser?" he asked. He knew? Was he also someone who built things or did he just have a surface level knowledge of lasers?

"Yes, how'd you know?" she asked, wondering if he would reveal that he's some kind of laser enthusiast. He gave her a chuckle and peered down the barrel.

"Lucky guess, you said it knocks chunks in metal." he gave vaguely and she nodded, biting the inside on her cheek.

"Yes, but my other laser is red and does the same thing." she returned and he shrugged.

"There's no use in that one. You can't carry something like that in your pocket." he pointed out. In most cases, that was true, but not with her laser. She had spent a long time messing with this one to make it worth something to her. She didn't steal the laser off a scrapped Shinra robot for it to be weak.

"This one you can!" she said, already falling to her knees to rummage through the box, Tifa stepping out of the way. Once she found it, she snatched it up and got to her feet, holding up the pen-sized laser. Cid gave it a once over and scoffed.

"I'm going to call bullshit on that. Red lasers need a lot of power to be that strong." He said and she shook her head. He was underestimating her.

"Yeah, but not if you use three hundred watts and mirrors." She twirled the laser pen in her fingers.

"Mirrors?" he narrowed his eyes and reached for the laser. She ignored his hand and kept it in her grasp. Too dangerous to hand over.

"Oh yeah, and magnifying glasses. See? In this tube, there are mirrors that separate the beam in half and focus them in through three small magnifying glasses. I fitted into the casing of a typical laser pointer, like the ones you buy for cats. This one is super pocket sized." she explained and almost gleamed with a touch of cockiness. Cid nodded.

"Well, if it's like you say, it'll melt right through metal. You can test it out on this dumbass's sword." he joked, pointed at Cloud.

"N-no! You can't-" Cloud began, pulled from his silence at the mention of his sword only to be cut off.

"Well, let's see it then!" Cid laughed. A demonstration?

Stella looked around and saw a bent tire rim resting against the back of the house. She was going to use it for something later but figured it would do. She muttered a "hold on" and tread over to where it leaned. Picking it up, she pulled it up from its spot, the rust on the surface scratched at her fingers. She carried it over to where the previous experiment was held, the surface of the popcorn surrounded EFG looked cool enough. Sticking the tire rim into the dirt and twisting it so that it stood upright, she left it be and grabbed the previous contraption, the surface still warm to the touch. She dropped it into her pocket, ignoring that it could very well kill her if it went off.

She took a deep breath once she got back to the house, where Barret shushed when she approached. Ignoring that anything could have been said about her, good or bad, she held up the laser pointer. Taking a steady aim and holding her wrist with her other hand to make sure she was still, she clicked the button on the side.

The red beam showed on the surface of the rim for a fraction of a second before it glowed brightly with heat and melted an expanding hole through the center. Fearing for anything behind the rim, she released the button and the metal melted like ice around the hole, caving in on itself. The molten metal dripped and set the dried grass ablaze. She figured this may happen at some point. A lot of her inventions made a messy fire in the aftermath of whatever destruction they wrought. She snatched a bottle of water from the box and rushed over, uncapping it before the fire spread. She dumped the contents all over the rim and grass, the metal made a violent hissing noise as the water boiled on its surface. The glow slowly faded and the fire hazard was reduced.

She held up the laser pen and began to walk back to the house. There was nothing more to show besides code on her laptop and she was certain none of them would care to see that.

"That's it. That's all I have right now." She gave, tired of walking to the fence and back each time she wanted to show something. Cloud turned and looked at Cid and Barret, waving his hand in her direction.

"I approve! Let's get this girl packed up! Whaddya say, Barret?" Cid asked, his arms folded. The taller man hadn't said much, content to watching.

"Uh, yeah. This is good stuff. You planning on making this stuff for our guys? I want one of those lasers." He added and she shook her head. No, she wasn't sure she wanted to be a part of this yet. She hadn't made the decision yet. She thought she would have more time.

"Yeah me too! Also, you think you can make the waffle one smaller?" Cid returned, his question caught her off guard.

"The pancake? I can try…" she muttered, opening her mouth to voice her concern but was drowned out.

"Then it's settled. She can pack up and meet us in the morning, right Cloud?" Barret asked and Cloud snapped his head up.

"Huh, no wait." He started, "Good that you guys agree to have her on board but…" He paused and he and Tifa looked to her.

"What do you want to do?" Tifa asked. Stella looked down and fiddled with the laser pointer in her hand.

Being put on the spot didn't help. She knew if she said yes, a lot would change, for better or for worse, and she wasn't sure she was ready for that much change. She always wanted to make something of herself and her inventions and working at the inn every day didn't make her happy. If she said no, she knew she would always wonder what she missed out on. But then again, this wasn't saying no to going on a vacation or a trade show. This was agreeing or disagreeing to be part of a known terrorist organization that would ruin her reputation whether or not she was useful to them. It was involvement, not that the body of the soldier in the inn wasn't involved enough.

"I don't know yet. I never thought any of this would ever be useful or that anyone would want me to make anything for them." She gave, the lack of an answer lingered in the air. This may be her only chance, she reminded herself.

Cid shifted around uncomfortably, pulling a cigarette from his coat pocket as if he was thinking about lighting it. Barret looked from her to Cloud, who sighed.

"Then tell me this. Why did you make these things?" Cloud asked, his thumb hooked around his belt loop. She had never really thought about it. She could answer that vaguely because she started making things for a reason but she never really knew why she continued.

"Well… I wanted to help my friend, to protect her when she moved away. She was supposed to come back but she hasn't yet…" Stella thought aloud. Cloud nodded. "In short, to protect people. After what happened today… I'm not sure if these are for protection or if they're just geeked up weapons."

"That's a tough question to answer, but if you never try to answer that for yourself, then you'll never know." he offered, "But if you come with us, I'll try my best to make sure these are for protection." He promised.

She didn't know what to say.

Before she could say anything, she heard a familiar voice shout her name from inside the house. In no time, the familiar figure burst through the back door, his hazel eyes wild. He gave her company a suspicious and frightened look, recognizing Cloud. Still, he pushed past them and grabbed her shoulders.

"Hey, let go!" she exclaimed, yanking her arms away. He obeyed and clasped his hands nervously.

"Those blueberry pricks came and "debriefed" me, whatever that means, and they bullied me! They asked a bunch of questions. I lied for you, Stella! If they find out, we're both toast!" He all but yelled.

"Damien, what did you say? What did you tell them?" She demanded and he took a breath, panting from what she assumed was a run to her house.

"I wanted to describe someone the opposite of you so I said three burly and strong men came in and beat them up but then they asked why one guy was burned and I panicked and said lighter fluid when I could have said materia. It was terrible, Stella, I thought I was doomed but they bagged the guy up and took him away and said that they were looking for someone else before they left." He blabbered his explanation.

"So they left? Did they say if they were coming back or not?" She asked and Damien shook his head.

"They didn't say anything else but I know one thing! They were not happy. I think you should go live with your mom just in case, until they stop investigating." The brunette panted out, "I wanna help you and I've done all I can. I don't want you to get in trouble, Stella."

The group shifted uncomfortably. If the Shinra investigated this further, the inn wouldn't be a good place to hide out and neither would anywhere in Kalm.

"If that's the case, we need to head out." Cloud concluded and gave Stella an apologetic glance. "If you haven't decided yet, you should stay. If you have any doubts, what we do isn't for you." He gave her a pat on the shoulder.

She looked at him, as he waited for her to confirm her decision. Letting the laser pen roll in her palm she grasped it. She had made her decision. She held up her finger and turned towards her old pal.

"Damien, you said you wanted to help me right?" she asked and he nodded, answering her, "If you want to help me, take Penelope home, love her and feed her. I don't know when I'll come back. I'll figure out what to tell my parents. Can you do that for me?" She asked and he stared at her in disbelief.

"You don't mean you're going with these nutcases? Stella, you can't do that!" he exclaimed, giving the group a gesture.

"Do you want to want to help me or not?" She asked. He looked her up and down, seeing no hesitation on her.

"Yes… I want to help but this is…" he trailed off and sighed, closing his eyes. "This is your chance. You always talked about getting out of here. I just thought we'd do it together."

"Ew, don't get like that on me." she half joked. "I'll call. I promise. Now go buy some cat food." He gave her a look like he wanted to say something but he turned away and left through the back door to go back through her home.

She stood in silence for a moment as she came to grip. She should be packing. Taking no further hesitation, she knelt by the box and emptied her pockets of devices and pulled it into her grasp.

"I'm going to go wait with the Highwind. Catch you guys later." Cid gave, lighting his cigarette and leaving… through her house with a lit cigarette. She didn't have the time to complain in her mind before Barret spoke up.

"I'm going with him." he uttered before following Cid through the house.

She was left with Cloud and Tifa, the two she knew the longest and the ones she felt like she knew the most. Taking time to unravel the wires and chords of her working pieces from the others, to make packing easier. She tried to determine the quickest way to pack her things, her mind spinning. Nothing really felt real to her and she felt like she was being swept along by some autopilot part of her mind as she headed into the garage and began to pack there.

"You know this is going to be a hard transition, right? I just want to make sure you know that we'll do our best to make sure you're okay, but we're going to be living rough." Cloud gave and Stella nodded.

"Yep, probably way harder than I'm thinking it is right now, right? I get it, you know. I know this isn't a smart idea for little old me but you know what's harder? Going to the inn every morning to be yelled at by travelers." She gave, honing in on her packing as she separated vital things from the mess of her workspace.

Tifa giggled at her response.

"Yes, that's hard for sure. Mix alcohol with that and it can be tough. I own a bar in Edge." She admitted. She wondered what a woman like this was doing with a group like the infamous AVALANCHE. Stella guessed she'd be learning a lot about her and the others for however long she was going to be with them.

"Wow that's terrible. I'm so sorry." Stella gave, having gathered all of her arduinos and input sensors into a plastic baggie.

"Yeah, dealing with customers is never fun." Cloud deadpanned before getting to his question, "How long do you think it'll take you to pack it up?"

"Give me thirty minutes."


	5. Take Off

**Note: So! I just played the Remake and needless to say I enjoyed it. I brought this up because I will be writing this fic with FF7 and Advent Children canon, NOT the Remake canon. That being said, I hope this doesn't disappoint anyone who wants any expansion on the Remake.**

The backpack on her back was stuffed as full as she could manage without ripping the seams apart. Leaning against the railing she opted to stay quiet until she was told what to do and where to go. The team was talking in a group and she didn't feel obligated to ask what was next or what they were planning. She was sure they would tell her whatever they wanted her to know. The flight management team, about four people besides Cid, were all busy around consoles with flickering lights above buttons, levers, and knobs.

They had managed to sneak out of Kalm and past a group of Shinra guards who were just outside the city walls. To say she was shocked when she saw the Highwind, as it was called, tucked sneakily around the far side of the walls of Kalm would be an understatement. She didn't know what she was expecting, given she hadn't had much time to form any expectations. She dumbly asked if it was supposed to fly, to which Cid laughed and stated "I sure as hell hope it does" which set the tone for what she guessed the rest of the evening. A tone of uncertainty.

Feeling out of place in the massive control room of the airship, she stood and looked down at the suitcase to bring her attention from the massive windows. She swayed back and forth, the backpack tugged at her shoulders and threatened to pull her down, yet she didn't set it down on the concrete floor. Looking outside wouldn't help her nerves a bit.

She might have a fear of heights.

Cid, after patting one of the pilots on the shoulder, ending their chat, looked over to her and a grin spread across his face. He took a few steps over and she straightened up, expecting some clarification on what she should and where she should go.

"Haven't heard as much as a peep out of you. Regretting coming along?" He asked, his tone jovial. She shook her head and played with the extended handle of her suitcase.

"No, I just um... wish I knew where to start working." She muttered and he gave a chuckle.

"Oh, I see. Eager to get to it? You can do that later, for now set that bag down. How do you like the Highwind?" taking his order, she slung the heavy bag down and it gave a hefty thud even though she was careful to lower it.

"Oh, it's cool. I've never flown before, so I don't know what to expect. It looks pretty big." She gave vaguely, not sure what to say. Cid nodded and scratched his head.

"Just cool, huh? This ship is one of the finest I've owned, besides the ones that I've made myself. I'm not gonna give you a tour or nothing, but this is the improved version of the Highwind. Sleeping quarters, bathrooms with showers, and even a small workout area. I'm sure the one spare room where we used to keep random junk would be a good spot for you to set up." he explained, but she only half listened, something catching her attention.

"Wait, did you say you _made_ airships?" she asked, hoping she heard right. He nodded.

"Yeah, I made a rocket too, kid. Wish I could show ya the evidence." he smiled before adding, "You think you were getting judged by a bunch of tech-numb idiots? That's true for them, but I know what I'm talking about. Would have thrown you under the bus if your projects weren't worth shit."

That was just great. Being unknowingly interviewed by a literal rocket engineer and showing off her half efforted attempts at something innovative. All of the barely working prototypes weren't enough to be considered worth the time and yet… here she was. She wondered why. After a moment of her silence as she reconsidered every project she showed, until the elder man motioned her to follow him, already taking a few steps in the opposite direction.

"You said it was your first time on an airship? First time flying, you gotta see the view." He ushered, walking right up to the floor to ceiling window. She followed and stopped a few feet away, leaning in to peer through the glass. The farmlands and patches of trees came and went, looking smaller than she had ever seen besides in tv and pictures. The height was dizzying and she felt like she would fall over.

"Beautiful, ain't it? Better get used to it, it gets boring quick." He observed, looking out at the blurring landscape. She wondered how far they had traveled, where they were heading. How far from home would she end up? The passing blurs of greens and browns of the environment made her head spin.

"Oh, lovely. Looks great." she gave, closing her eyes to pull her attention back, her head spinning.

She was definitely afraid of heights.

"Okay, enough sightseeing. Let's get you busy. Cloud!" He called out, his words felt like whiplash. Stella took a few steps away from the window and took the cue to go pull the cumbersome bag onto her shoulders again. There was no answer and she noticed that the blonde was nowhere to be seen. "Cloud? Where is he?" Cid grumbled and Tifa looked away from Barret, their conversation being interrupted.

"He went to lay down." She piped up and Cid scoffed.

"Oh yeah I forgot about the-" he gave a vague hand gesture to hint at something. "If that's the case, Tifa, will you show this one to that one room?" he asked and Tifa nodded.

"The room we used to store junk in?" she confirmed.

"Right, that one." Cid gave, "There's a table in there, she could set up her work station." he informed and turned to Stella, who had already taken hold of her cargo. "You're not claustrophobic, right?" he asked with a chuckle. "Anyway, if you have any questions ask somebody, but not me. I'm busy up here." he offered, non-helpful. _Thanks_. She watched as he turned with a short wave and headed back over to one of the pilots as Tifa stepped around her and headed down the metal grate stairs.

Stella silently followed the brunette down the stairs, the metal creaked and clanked under their feet. She let her hand trace the railing as they approached the bottom, looking down over the platform to a storage area a level below. Once down the stairs, Tifa turned to face her, a soft smile spread on her face. She pulled her long hair over her shoulder to have it drape down the back of her windbreaker.

"So Stella, do you want a tour first? You can look around later, but I don't mind showing you around now if you want?" The dark brunette asked and Stella gripped at the handle on her suitcase.

"That would be great but can I set all this down first? It's a little heavy." She asked, half laughing from her own exasperation. Tifa looked from the luggage to her and nodded.

"Of course, I'll show you what's going to be your workspace first and you can set everything there." she confirmed and motioned her along.

"Sounds good." Stella mumbled and followed along, past a conference room and down a narrow hall, the fluorescent lights felt so clinical.

Once down the hall, there looked to be a small but compact kitchen with a bar, the metal bar stools looked shiny and unused, perhaps new. A pleather lounge chair and sofa sat in front of a small flatscreen tv, the space hardly fitting both the kitchen and the lounge area. Tight quarters but what did she expect for an airship. Just in front of the opening for the lounge and kitchen common room was a metal door. It looked reinforced and might have been locked up before, but there was no keycard reader present. Only a knob.

Tifa stopped at the door, twisting the knob and pushing it in.

"Here's your room, go ahead and take a look at it and set your stuff down. You can set up later, but I wanna show you the gym and the sleeping dorms." She brightened up at her own mention of the gym. From the look of it, Tifa certainly seemed to favor the gym. Stella wouldn't be confident to arm wrestle her any time soon.

Taking no hesitation to rid herself of the heavy luggage, she stepped into the bare room. The floor was concrete and the walls were bare. A few power outlets were strung against the wall and a chair and metal folding table sat against the wall. It wasn't a large room, but Stella was confident she could work with the space. A single, dull hanging light shined from the center of the room and Stella swung the backpack off her shoulders.

"Cid was right, it is tight in here. Good news, it's next to the kitchen." Stella thought aloud and Tifa stifled a laugh.

"I take it you like to snack and work?" She asked and Stella pushed the backpack to lay against the wall

"Who doesn't? Actually, that may be a bad thing. You might have to lock me in here." Stella half joked, trying to relieve the air of awkward and unfamiliar tension with someone she just met who could definitely get her fired.

"It's a nice kitchen. It's a new addition and it almost resembles my bar." she added, her brown eyes looked out the door at the new furnishings, "I almost think Cid did this with me in mind, even if he'd never admit it."

"Right, the bar in Edge? You briefly mentioned it… before we left." Stella asked, her luggage now neatly laid to the side. She straightened up and sunk her hands into the spacious pockets of her baggy pants.

"The Seventh Heaven, my pride and joy. One of the bar patrons was nice enough to take over for the time I'm away. I was worried I'd have to close it, but lucky for me they know the ropes, being the babysitter." Tifa mused, looking up at the ceiling as she thought, her voice holding an evident fondness.

"You have kids?" Stella asked and the brunette shook her head and laughed, her knuckles met her lips.

"Well, not exactly. There are two kids that I share the house with, you can say. Marlene, who is Barret's daughter, and Denzel who is more like a younger brother than a son. Needless to say, I care for them both a lot, even if it's hard sometimes." She paused and looked back to Stella, giving her a reassuring smile. "That's why I'm glad to have you on board. The more help we get, the better."

"I'm glad you're looking at it this way." Stella began and wondered if she should continue her thought. "I really thought you guys were going to blackmail me back there. I'm still not over everything yet, but now I at least feel a little better knowing that you're not going to blame me for what happened at the inn."

"You thought we we're going to rat you out? What would we even blackmail you for?" Tifa asked and Stella gave a vague hand gesture.

"Well to make me work for you, one. Terrible things tend to happen when someone knows something like that. Cloud saw what that device did, all he had to do was hold that over my head. Yet, neither of you did. I'm not used to seeing that." Stella admitted and sighed. Tifa gave her a knowing look. Surely she knew what Stella meant, especially if she lived around Midgar. There was hardly a doubt that she could sympathize.

A short, lingering silence passed and Stella didn't want any pity or weight in the air.

"Cid mentioned a gym, right? Let's check it out."

* * *

Cloud pinched his eyebrows together, his hands cupped over his face. He thought he was over it, but that same sinking dizziness returned to him. Take off was always the worst part and he could manage after the initial motion of it. That was normally the case but it had been so long since he had been in an aircraft that it was much worse, or that was his idea anyway. His nausea had come and gone, the most of it had already passed and he determined he was stable enough to walk down the hallway, but he was too hasty.

Leaning against the wall, the dim lights of the new lounge giving only slight relief to his pounding head, he closed his eyes and tried to steel himself away from his dizziness. He had come to check on the new member after all and he didn't want to cause any concern. The door to the room he was told she had set up in was slightly ajar and as he tried to will his dizziness away, he realized that the new engineer's voice spoke casually and cheerfully.

He shouldn't listen, but he wasn't in the proper state to rush away. Besides, it gave him something to focus on to help him avoid falling over.

"-you know I hate it there, but it'll be okay. It's for dad and he never asks for help, you know how he is. Do me a favor and don't tell him I told you. He wants to run the farm by himself and his ego will be hurt if it gets out that I'm staying with him for a while. I just called to tell you that I won't be at the house for some time. Who knows how long really." her voice explained, sounding calm and casual. She paused and listened, humming along.

"Alright mom, love ya too. Take care. Bye." Then the soft click of a phone. Cloud listened on as there was a short period of idleness. There was the sound of movement and a deep breath.

"Hey dad… yeah, it's Stella… No, nothing's wrong. I wanted to call and tell you I won't be at the house for a while. I'm in Midgar right now. Mom called and wanted me to- hey, shut up….No, I don't have my mace with me but it's okay. Ugh, dad, stop and listen okay?" she gave with a frustrated sigh. "As I was saying, mom needs help with the practice for a while and I won't be home. She's been so swamped busy lately, she barely had the time to call me. I'll be less busy than she is, so call me if you wanna check in, okay?" she gave and Cloud put the pieces together. She was lying and setting both of her parents up not to call each other.

If something happened to her, it would be a while before her parents found out, if they ever did.

"Okay, yeah. No, I'm not buying mace. Look, my train is here, I have to go. Love ya too, dad, bye." She finished the call and the sound of what he believed was the phone being placed on a surface sounded. His dizziness was beginning to subside, but he wanted to give it another minute. He didn't wanna walk in and fall over immediately.

More silence followed and Cloud focused on breathing slowly. He heard more movement from behind the door and barely heard what the woman said.

"Please pick up…" a plea he had heard before and was sure he would hear again.

"Hey, Vanessa?" she gave, excited before her voice fell immediately, "Oh, voicemail. Should have guessed." followed by a groan. He hadn't heard the name before and he guessed it was her friend or sister or maybe some other family member, but he could be wrong. There was no way of knowing.

Letting his light headed state pass until he felt more grounded, he waited against the wall. Taking a deep breath, he took a step forward and so far so good. His headache remained, but he was sure it would for the next few hours.

Giving a light knock to the slightly ajar door, it swayed open a bit to reveal the woman, hunched over the fried piece of metal. Her sage green denim jacket was washed out in the dull light of the room and her black bun looked like it was hardly intact, loose strands hanging from the thick nest of hair. She held up the mesh net and scrutinized it, giving a slight frown. Her dark eyes turned up at him from where she sat, acknowledging his presence. He cleared his throat.

"Got a second?" his voice was a little soft and he again cleared his throat. He didn't want to sound like he had just been clinging to the hope that he wouldn't throw up just fifteen minutes ago.

"Yeah, come in." She answered, looking and sounding tired. She watched as he stepped out of the doorway and came into the room. It was small and cozy, but he knew it was all they could do right now. It should be fine for a work space, but he didn't envy her. He wouldn't want to spend a long time cooped up in a small room like this. It would drive him crazy.

Several of the inventions that she had shown previously laid on the table along with a jumble of chips, processors, copper wires, and strange lights and components.

"How are you settling?" he asked, seeing that she had already set up her station. Obviously, she was doing fine.

"I'm fine." she gave simply, taking a small hex key screwdriver to the tiny screws on the contraption, "Just starting to feel today's excitement bear down on me." her admittal was surprising to him. He didn't really expect her to be honest with him, but maybe she was the type that didn't care how she sounded. Tifa has said she was fine and dandy earlier when she showed her around the ship. He wondered if this time alone soured her perspective.

"Are you regretting it?" he inquired and she shook her head, her eyes still on the screws she was twisting away at. He leaned against the wall of the room, letting his arms fold into a comfortable position.

"Regret? No. Maybe a little overwhelmed or feeling out of place, but I don't regret anything yet." she said easily, her words confident. "I'm really grateful for this chance to get out and away from Kalm." Her statement irked him a little. He wasn't sure why but he thought it had something to do with how she regarded her own town. It was one of the most closed off and protected towns on the planet and she seemed to dislike it. Lots of people would love to live there. He tried not to dwindle on it.

"This isn't going to be like a vacation, you know." he responded flatly, and she pulled the now free panel from the contraption, a nest of curled and blackened wires sat charred in the center. She scoffed at his statement and he thought he caught an eye roll.

"I know that! I was shot today and that's more than enough proof." she huffed out and took a deep breath, pulling the charred processors from the metal casing of the ball. The next thing she said, her voice had softened and deflated. "I probably don't even know what I'm getting myself into, but it's better than staying and wondering. I'd rather regret this than regret staying."

"Right…" He didn't know what to say. It wasn't his priority to convince her of anything or to make any comment. It wasn't for him to wonder if she made the right decision to come along but it was his own doubt he felt. No matter how many times the members of AVALANCHE fought alongside him, he always wanted to make sure he bore the brunt of it all. He didn't want to share that burden, especially with a new member. He knew it would only get harder, but someone extra to make it easier and hopefully provide some protection was worth the risk. That's what he told himself, anyway.

"Are you the boss around here? I mean, everyone kinda acts like you are. You're not just a guy with a sword?" She piped up, the silence between them broke. He had forgotten to speak. Her question made him smile a little. _Just a guy with a sword_. That's how he felt sometimes.

"Nope, I'm a guy with a sword and I call the shots sometimes." he confirmed, a little humor tinted his words. She nodded along, pulling a new processor from the mangle of components on the edge of the table.

"So your role is... leader and fighter?" She reiterated to make sure she got it right, pulling her laptop closer and opening it.

"Something like that." he mused and she again nodded, booting up the old laptop, the keys worn with years of use. While she waited, she leaned her face in her palm and looked up at him.

"You know a little about me, what about you? Mr. "not from SOLDIER but definitely looks like it", what do you do when you're not leading and fighting or something like that?" Her tone was slightly teasing but only that. He didn't really want to talk about himself but he looked to what he did know about her, which is what she did for a living. He could start with that.

"I own a delivery service. Drive around from Midgar to wherever else. Midgar is my biggest customer base. It's easy enough and a lot of locals appreciate it. It's no big deal really."

"All of this public service." she tsked and glanced back at the laptop screen, playing with the processor in her palm. " Tifa with the bar and you with the deliveries. Anyone ever yell at you?"

"Can't say every customer is happy" he suggested vaguely. There were many times that being the delivery guy for bad news sent anger his way. Luckily, he never got in a scrap over it, but he had gotten close. The login screen popped up, and Stella quickly typed the code in, the splash screen melting away to show the desktop background. It was a photo of Stella, the guy from the inn, and an unfamiliar face. A long haired girl with frizzy brown hair and blue eyes. He didn't pay much mind and tried to regard it as none of his business.

"That's for sure… So you're really not from SOLDIER?" she asked again and he shook his head. He couldn't count how many times he had heard it and he was more than sick of it. He couldn't blame anyone for the assumptions, however. Stella clicked through some folders on the laptop and found the file she was looking for. A long string of color coded code, and as she scrolled through, it looked like it went on forever. She looked up, expecting the answer to his question.

"...No." he simply answered and she tsked again, pulling a cord around to plug into the processor in her hand.

"I feel bad for you then." she responded, a twinge of pity in her voice. Hearing it made him sore and he could feel his expression change, even if he tried not to let it.

"Why?" he managed and she shrugged as she typed into the file, the code being altered a tiny bit at the bottom. A loading bar appeared and she leaned back in her seat as her eyes watched the screen.

"Having some visual clue about yourself that people are bound to see and make judgements, think they know something about you? Must be horrible, especially with eyes like that." She stated, her gaze fixed on the loading bar.

He looked away at the far wall. She was right. No one wanted to have a stamp on them, some icon or symbol that they didn't want. He certainly didn't and he hated each time it was brought up. There was nothing he could do about it and no way to cover it up. He would have to deal with it and he couldn't let himself get upset about it. He didn't like to talk about it and it never ceased to ache a bit, even if he never showed it.

Taking in what she said, he had stayed unknowingly silent for a little too long and she looked up at him. Biting the inside of her cheek, she unplugged the processor and looked back down at it.

"I didn't mean anything negative. I just meant-" she trailed off. He had made her uncomfortable. She pulled another little technical component and hooked it up to the processor.

"I know what you meant. It's fine." he reassured, watching as she shook the processor and waiting for something to happen. She did it again and nothing. Once again and the light blinked three times. She groaned and frowned. It wasn't working properly yet. "Working on that same contraption from earlier?" he asked, having already figured out that she was working on it. She looked up at him and back at the processor.

"The taser net ball? Yes, and I'm having issues. First, the delay is too long but I can fix that easy, but I have no clue how to make it smaller like I want to. I don't think I can unless I find a way to reduce the battery size. If I make it smaller, it'll lose its punch. I don't know, maybe once I fix it, I'll think of a mark two design." She explained, shaking the processor again and watching as nothing happened.

She had a lot of work to do and he should get to the point, he decided.

"You'll think of something. Anyway, I came in to check in and to tell you we're headed for Gongaga. You'll stay here with the ship. Cid is still filling us in on the details, but my guess is that we'll be gone a while." By a while, he meant several days. He wasn't looking forward to it, but Tifa was getting the tents together now. He knew he wouldn't get much sleep that way, knowing that any sound of the wild would have him spring awake immediately.

"Gongaga… that's so far away…" She trailed off, looking down at the light, which blinked out of sync. He didn't think it was that far, but my foot or vehicle would take a long while to get there. Traveling only made the world feel smaller to him.

"Think you can patch that up before we get there? Barret wants to take it on a test run." he asked, and she gave him a wide eyed and concerned look. That was enough of an answer.

"Um.. it's still a prototype so if it malfunctions…-" What she meant is that it could go off and kill at any moment. He saw what it did and he didn't want it going off in his pocket unprompted.

"Right, nevermind." He scratched at his shoulder. It was worth a shot.

"You can take one of the other two." Stella piped up, waving at the other two contraptions on the work table.

"Oh yeah, the 123." He recalled. That's what it was called, right?

"The EFG, you mean." she corrected, pulling the bowl shaped contraption towards her. The covered button lay loose inside the divetted bowl.

"The TLC." he said back on impulse. She narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to argue before she realized he wasn't being serious. Giving a snort, she rolled her eyes and held it out to him.

"You don't deserve this if you can't remember three letters." Teasing, she handed it to him. He took it and was surprised how light it was. It made sense, it probably was solid metal and needed room to hold all of the wires. "Remember what I said about turning it on and off? Also, the detonator controls this one." she reminded. He didn't want another walkthrough of the process, so he tucked it under his arm after he scooped up the detonator button.

"Yeah, I recall." he offered and she gave a judging look at how he was holding it, but kept her mouth shut.

"Try not to fry yourself. I won't be there to remind you how it works" She again reminded, turning back to her work. She plugged the malfunctioning processor back up.

"I can handle it." He reassured and she began to type, pausing as she talked.

"I'm sure you can… if you get any more details, will you let me know? I know it's not my place to come in and ask for secrets, but knowing what my work is doing is important to me." It was understandable that she didn't feel entitled to anything yet. He remembered when he too felt like an intruder in AVALANCHE. He hoped she wouldn't feel as out of place as he did for as long as he did.

"Secrets? You're part of us now… but I'll let you know what I do. I'll leave you to it." He gave, noting that she was pausing her work to listen to him. He never wrote a line of code in his life, but he knew it was no trivial feat. He didn't want a line of code to be botched and have the result be catastrophic. He turned and pulled the door open, announcing his leave.

"Alright, and Cloud?" She called back, stopping him in his tracks.

"Hmm?" He inquired and she paused, tapping her fingers by her keyboard.

"Thanks." She said finally, her tapping stopped. She was thanking him?

"Huh, for what?" He asked. She gave a gesture at her table of gadgets and tangled cords.

"Seeing something in me, in my junk." She laughed in spite of herself. He hardly saw it as junk and even Cid said it had potential. That man doesn't compliment anything, so for him to say it was promising was a lot. It was a lot and if her tech got better than this, he'd be thankful himself, which he was sure it would. She had several days to work and she might fix that one _taser net ball_, as she called it.

"Don't mention it. Thank you." He returned and she snapped her head back up.

"Me?" She asked, her thumb pointed at her chest.

"Yeah, for trusting us and coming along to help." He concluded and stepped out, ready to go talk to the others.

Taking off down the narrow hallway, he appreciated the lack of spinning that he felt, grateful that his motion sickness had subsided by now. He felt much better and with the… whatever it was called tucked under his arm, he felt a little more prepared.

He was not happy to be back in the Highwind. He wasn't happy to have to travel again for anything other than his delivery service, but this time, maybe he'd be a little more prepared. He knew that stirring the pot with Shinra after these years wasn't going to be easy. It never was, but he knew what AVALANCHE was getting into this time. He may have been prepared and the other members were experienced and volunteered but he still felt a little uneasy about the new addition.

Did she know what she was getting into? He was going to say no way, but if he could help it, she wouldn't be dragged along into every mission. She wasn't a soldier and she didn't need to become one. Not yet. Yes, she'll just stay undercover with the group and make things. He'll pay her and she'll decide if she wants to stick around. He hoped she did. Having a few weapons made and nothing more would be only a lucky break when he wanted to have her as an asset. If her tech got better and she began to make more, then the potential she had was worth it.

The only thing that plagued him is if it would be worth it to her and if she would leave. Tifa already seemed to like her and Barret was already excited about the new fancy toys she made. It was what it was, however, and he would have to be okay with whatever happened.

He just hoped he didn't regret asking her to come along someday.


	6. Conference Call

She didn't know how many hours had passed since around three in the evening, the first time she had checked the clock since she boarded the Highwind. She was willing to bet it was dark outside now. It was easy to get lost in work when she listened to music and ever since the really awkward talk with her new boss, Cloud, she had been listening to the same album on repeat for who knows how long.

The shake of the ship reminded her of where she was and brought her out of her work induced daydreams. The shake came with no warning and scared her a good bit. Had they landed? Was something going wrong? Please don't tell her they were falling from the sky. Given that nothing more had come after the initial disturbance, she assumed that the ship had landed and pushed her chair back.

Yanking the earbuds from her ears, she stood up and felt the ache of sitting for too long in her back and legs. She might ask for a cushion later or set an alarm to remind her to stand every once and a while. Taking no further hesitation, she pushed the door open and found the lights in the lounge area off and the room void. Deciding to take her curiosity to the cockpit, she walked down the narrow hallway and out into the open area. The sunlight that would stream down from the cockpit was replaced with artificial light and nothing more. It was dark out. The conference room was also lit, and voices echoed out into the space.

Taking the chance to ask, she made her way over to the open door and before she had the chance to ask anything or to make her appearance known, Barret looks out the door and spots her.

"Stella, get in here! We're talking business." He called out to her and she stiffened for a moment, not expecting to be invited in so early.

The eyes of the others turned towards her as she walked in the door. Cid leaned back in a swivel chair, a cigarette pinched between his fingers and Tifa stood with Cloud. The long mahogany conference table stretched down the length of the room and a map of the planet was displayed on the far wall, the blue screen washed together with the fluorescent lights. Her contraption sat on the table's edge, the detonator button lay next to it.

"Did we land? I felt a shake and wanted to make sure nothing was wrong." She asked, her voice quiet. Cid scoffed and rocked side to side in the chair, it swiveled with him and creaked with his weight.

"You think I'd let something go wrong with my ship? If something bad was happening, you'd know it." Cid half grumbled, half bragged through a drag on the cigarette. She wrinkled her nose at the scent of the smoke that lingered in the air. Did he always do this?

"Come on, Cid. Don't be like that. She didn't mean nothing." Barret spoke up from behind her, stepping away from the door and pulling a chair out, taking a seat. He let his weaponized arm rest on the table in front of him. It was fascinating and she might ask to take a look later, if she could gather the courage. He seemed nice enough, defending her like this, but she still didn't know where boundaries stood for someone she just met.

"Sorry, none of us thought about warning you… guess we should have." Tifa added, her arms folded over her chest. Stella looked to the map and then back at the door.

"So… are we in Gongaga already?" Stella asked and Cloud nodded.

"Take a seat, we're gonna talk about it now. You wanted to know what the deal was, so now you'll know what we do." He gave, rubbing his eyes. He looked tired already. They all did, and now they were having a meeting so late, which only hinted to her that it was going to be a long night.

"Okay, boss." She responded, pulling a chair under her and taking a seat. Cloud gave her a look and lifted his eyebrows.

"Boss? No, don't call me that." He began shaking his head, "Just Cloud, okay?" With his correction, Tifa gave them both a grin and took a seat beside Stella. The brunette smirked and spoke up.

"Hey boss, sit while you can. We're going to be walking a while and you've been on your feet this entire trip." Tifa advised, her teasing tone played with her smile. The blonde opened his mouth to say something, but opted out and just sat down, taking the seat at the head of the table, the map to his back. Each of the members were scattered around the table, Barret and Cloud were the furthest apart and the closest person to Stella was Tifa. It felt kinda strange, but she ignored it.

"Walking? You guys are going for a walk this late?" Stella asked and Cid grunted.

"Yeah, sucks doesn't it? The uncomfortable sleeping bags are what I'm dreading, but what can you do." He complained, shedding better light on the situation. She wasn't going to go with them, was she? She wasn't planning on an impromptu camping trip and she certainly didn't want to get that up close and personal with the forests of Gongaga.

"Don't worry, you get to be cushy here until we get back. We don't have enough sleeping bags and you're not bunking down with me." Barret joked with a chuckle, having to have seen the concern on her face. "Yep, you get to hold down the fort here." He added and Stella hadn't considered that. She snapped her eyes to Cloud.

"Wait, am I going to have to watch this ship? I can't… I'm not qualified for that." Stella began and Cloud held his hand up.

"No… yes… kinda? You just have to stay here until we get back. You can defend yourself, right?" He asked, his elbows propped on the table. She stared at him for a second, thinking it was pretty obvious that she couldn't. She was new, didn't have a gun arm, and wasn't buff like Tifa. She gave a nervous laugh in response as she formed an answer.

"Me? I've never been in a fight in my life. What I did at the inn today… that was the first time. If someone comes at me, I'll try my best but… I'm not like you." Her words lingered in the silence they left. Tifa looked down at her hands and Cloud rubbed his temple.

"Well, Cloud, looks like you're gonna hafta get this girl a gun." Cid laughed, putting out the stub of his cigarette. "If she doesn't barbeque them first."

"Right, I'll work on that." He sighed and looked at Stella. "Are you gonna feel safe here by yourself? Does someone need to stay with you?" Cloud asked, his brows pulled forward. She didn't want to be a bother, but being new and having to watch what she assumed was a million gil ship by herself wasn't ideal. Before she could open her mouth, an electronic jingle sounded.

Taking a moment to fish it out, Cloud pulled a cell phone from his jacket pocket, flipping it open. Pressing it to his ear, the room held their breath in anticipation. Cloud didn't give much other than a hum and an "okay" before he flipped the phone shut.

"Well, I think I know who's going to stay here with Stella…" Cloud trailed off and he furrowed his brow. "How does Vincent always know where we are?" He asked as he stood, maneuvering around the chair.

"Oh, I called. Let him know where we were heading." Tifa spoke up, remaining seated. Cloud tipped his head to the side, his question being answered.

Without another word, he slipped out of the door and she was under the impression he was going to let "Vincent" in. There was no telling who the next person she would meet would be? A new and strange character, she assumed, but maybe hoped it was someone normal and someone she could be friends with. Not that anyone sitting at the table with her didn't have that potential, but she was still unsure. The silence didn't last long.

"Vincent is great company, you'll like him if you like things real quiet." Barret gave, tapping his fingers on the table. So far, she appreciated Barret, at least trying to make things seem a little less serious. None of them really seemed over serious, really.

"Oh yeah? Not a conversationalist?" Stella asked, leaning her head on her palm. Cid laughed and shook his head.

"Oh, you'll see. He's a great marksman, I'll give him that, but he's an odd feller." Cid chuckled, tugging at his sleeve.

Stella wasn't sure how to respond so she fell silent. That silence also didn't last long.

"So, spikey head told me what that weapon did to that Shinra lackey. Did it feel good to zap him like that?" Barret asked and Stella gave a non-committed hand wave.

"I thought it would feel good in the long run, but so far, not really. I have a good reason to want to lash out, those blueberries made my job a lot harder with how careless they were with the rooms and keys. Today was the first time one ever pulled a gun on me." Stella admitted. Barret gave a nod of understanding as he grinned.

"Blueberries, huh? I like that." He started with a smile before adding, "You regretting what you did?" His tone held a little more seriousness.

"I'm not sure about regret yet, but it didn't feel great. I always made these things but I never expected that I would be throwing it at someone's head someday. It's a little scary and a little jarring, but I guess I have to accept it. I make weapons." She sighed out, her revelation from the hours she sat mulling over it on the trip was made vocal.

"Well, you might get used to that or you might not. However long this little gig of yours last, AVALANCHE is gonna make sure these weapons are only for those blueberries with targets on their heads." Barret assured, laughing at his own use of the term _blueberry_.

A pair of footsteps brought Stella's attention to the door, which framed a new figure. A tall lanky man in very peculiar clothes walked in. His long black hair was in complete disarray in a ragged waterfall over his shoulders, which were covered by a red tattered cloak which draped in front halfway down his arms. The rest of him was adorned in black. The only skin shown on him was his fingertips on his right hand, which peaked out from black gloves, and a sliver of his face, which only revealed his eyes and nose. The high, red collar of the cloak covered his mouth and red cloth which only partially kept his hair from his face obscured his brows. He was an "odd feller" for sure.

His expression was impossible to read, and not just because his brows and mouth were tucked away. Cloud stepped around him and to the chair he has previously occupied at the head of the table.

"I've talked to Vincent and he'll stay here while we go." Cloud spoke up and Vincent stepped forward and set something heavy and metallic on the table in front of Stella. A handgun.

"For you." And that was all he said before taking a step back and standing near the door. She gave him an appalled look and debated touching the gun, but decided against it. The idea of it going off was too daunting.

"Um, thanks. This is nice of you." She thanked him and he gave her a hum in response before letting his red eyes rest on Cloud. She supposed he wasn't going to sit, as he leaned against the door frame.

"Okay, back to business." Cloud spoke up, taking his previous seat and propping arms on the table as he settled into the chair. "Thanks to Cid, we discovered that Shinra land surveyors have taken camp near Gongaga village and are making it hell for the locals. What was it you said they were doing again?" Cloud directed his question at Cid, who looked up and clicked his tongue.

"They're raising hell, that's what." Cid huffed, "Guarding the water source, not allowing anyone to leave, demanding that the soldiers quarter in the inn, just a bunch of scare tactics. A buddy of mine said that a lot of their business is built on trades so this is messing up their money too, but you know those asses are planning this."

"How exactly are they enforcing it, do you know?" Cloud asked, clasping his gloved hands together.

"Telling the folks who try to leave that they would be getting in the way of the surveying and it's a crime to interfere with official Shinra business. Just blocking them in, that's how." Cid answered and Cloud closed his eyes for a moment.

"So they're already surveying out there and you know what that means." Cloud insinuated vaguely, only to have Barret pick up the thought.

"They're gonna slap a big ugly reactor or facility up. Not if we can help it, right?" Barret added and tapped his fingers on the table. Cloud shook his head.

"There's not a ton we can do right now about that, but we can shake up the surveyors and help the locals as much as we can. And as far as what they're planning, we don't know yet." Cloud stated, his voice lowered.

"Well I know everyone is being shooed out of Rocket Town, that's for sure. They're buying up land, left and right. Trying to get whatever they can get their greedy hands on." Cid grumbled. A voice came from the back of the room, the cloaked man spoke up.

"We don't know what they want yet. That's the first thing we should learn and stealth will suit us better." Vincent suggested, still leaning against the doorframe.

Tifa had been listening along the whole time, but finally pulled her face up from her palm.

"I agree with Vincent. Maybe instead of stirring the pot, we should go and talk to the locals and try to find out as much as we can. We can ask them if they know anything that we don't before we take action." Tifa gave and Cloud nodded.

"That's fair… but we'll have to sneak in and be careful." Cloud confirmed as he watched Tifa open her mouth.

"Sneaking isn't… our strong suit, but we'll have to make it work." Tifa added with a touch of humor, a small smile spread across her face. There was a short silence over the room as everyone listened on. Stella grew uncomfortable and wished she had something in her hand to fiddle with or work on, but the only thing in front of her was the unfamiliar gun which could very well be loaded.

"What do you think, Stella? Anything you want to add?" Cloud asked and snapped her attention up. He was asking her?

"Me? What do I think of what?" Stella asked, surprised and confused. "Why are you asking me? This is over my head."

"You're right, but you're still here. Might as well ask." He concluded and took a stand, pushing his chair back. He slid the EFG on the table in the inner pocket of his jacket and it made her wonder if it would be of much use. She knew they really didn't want to know what she was thinking.

She couldn't understand how this group, AVALANCHE with all its reputation to boot, could think that what they did would help anything. Maybe momentarily they could cost Shinra some money or time, but there was nothing to be done. The Shinra Power Company had more money to spare and more time spread out among all of its network. It was a megacorporation and she couldn't see how a couple of tough people could do anything about a corporation so interconnected in society. She didn't know why and she didn't know how. Part of her wanted to hope that they could succeed in giving Shinra a power check, but she knew it was so improbable. Listening to them talk, it was like it didn't faze any of them or they didn't consider how impossible it seemed.

She didn't want to open her mouth now, not when it wasn't her place to. Not when she didn't know the ins and outs of the group she was now hired for. She just hoped she could be more helpful than unhelpful.

"It's go time, right?" Barret said more as an observation than a question, seeing the blonde stand and stretch.

"We got a long night ahead of us." Cloud sighed and frowned, "We need to get moving, it's already dark." With his call, the room came alive with everyone standing up and pushing their chairs under the table. Everyone idly made their way around the table and to the door. Stella was the last to stand, giving a wary look at the gun on the table. Best she didn't touch it for now, she could come back later.

"Don't look so sad. It's been a while since we were able to set up a campfire." Tifa offered Cloud, trying to sound positive. Everyone looked so tired and hardly ready for a nightly trip into the forest, Cloud was no exception. Stella felt a twinge of pity for everyone and a little guilty that she didn't have to go.

"Yeah, it's been a while. Last time we had stuff for s'mores…" He trailed off and gave a small smile, "Maybe next time it won't suck as much." He added, Tifa giving him a smile in return as she headed out the door. Cloud remained near the wall, waiting as everyone shuffled out the door. Vincent was the last to step out, leaving Stella the only one who lingered. She didn't know whether or not to see them off or to just go back and work while they left.

"Are you gonna leave that there?" Cloud asked and gave a nod to the gun left on the table.

"I um… was gonna get it later. It might be loaded and I-" Stella tried to explain and Cloud called out the door before she could continue.

"Hey, Vincent, a word?" His call brought the taller man back, who stopped by the door. His red eyes gave her a look. She faked a smile, not exactly happy with the new guy who would be watching her for a while. With no words from him, Cloud began and motioned over to her.

"Can you give her a little crash course? Nothing major, just a rundown and maybe let her shoot some." Cloud asked and the man nodded.

"Babysitting and class." He confirmed, "Okay." His response was short and humorless and Stella felt her mood sink.

"Babysitting…" Stella groaned. "That's not entirely fair, but not far from the truth." She reluctantly commented. Cloud shrugged and gave Vincent a pat on the shoulder as he left through the door.

"Gotta go grab the supplies. We'll be heading out soon." And he was gone down the hallway with the others.

Stella was left with the cloaked man, who closed his eyes and exhaled through his nose. His reaction was close to how she felt now, but she instead crossed her arms and looked away. He strode around her and picked the gun up from the table, holding it in his hand.

"Hold it like this." He demonstrated as he held the gun properly. "Finger off the trigger unless you plan to shoot. Safety is on the side." His words were quick. He held the weapon out to her and she gingerly took it.

"Is it loaded?" She asked, tilting it in her hand. The round safety was pressed in and the gun was heavy. It felt loaded, but she couldn't tell. The only gun she had handled before was an empty shell that she put components and a laser into.

"Yes." he gave simply. "You can shoot tomorrow and I'll show you how to clean it." He gave again and then turned on his heel, the conversation over.

She looked down at the gun while the man left her in the conference room. She debated going and asking if anyone needed her help before they left, but decided to go be useful doing her job. It was going to take a while to fix the kinks in her current projects and work on miniaturizing some of the designs. She made sure the safety was on again and dropped the gun into her pocket. She was still cautious, not wanting it to go off. Her own inventions, however, flawed and buggy on their own, felt safer to her than a well-crafted gun. She remembered the pain in her shoulder, no scar or wound to show for it.

It had been a long day.

Trying to forget it, she left the conference room, dodging Cid as he strode around her, backpack being swung onto his shoulders. Ignoring the dark outside, she felt as if her long day was only starting now as she walked down the hallway to the lounge. Taking a breath, she opened her door and stepped into the workroom, her mp3 player lay on the table beside her soldering iron. It was going to be a long night and maybe even a longer couple of days, but at least she wasn't going to her bed and dreading sleep only to wake up under the same routine.

Now she had something to look forward to, even if she didn't know what yet.


	7. Tourist Mugs

Using the needle nose pliers, she coiled the copper wire as tightly together as she could manage, using a coin as her guide. If she could make this as small as a bottle cap, she was doing amazing and it would be her goal. She doubted it, however, because with development came compromises and size would be the first compromise she'd make. She wanted this particular model to have around forty-five milliamps of current. That way, if she tossed it at someone and activated it, they couldn't continue to chase her or anyone else. That kind of amperage was enough to cause terrible muscle contractions and burns, but surely wouldn't be bad enough to fry or kill someone… unless of course they were standing in water.

But then again, that was a lot to ask of a smaller version of her own pancake model, which was around a hundred twenty milliamps in itself and was the size of a frisbee. However, with lots of work and problem solving, maybe she could make it work. Of course, she would have to account for the size of the sensor and she was using the smallest processor chip she could get her hands on. Her supplies were limited right now, but if she could make a prototype and know exactly what she needed, she knew what that first paycheck would go towards. Of course, that depends on how quickly she had to recycle materials and if she would have to start from scratch and-

Her stomach growled. Lowering the pliers, she leaned back in the uncomfortable metal chair to assess how she felt. Tired? Yes. Hungry? Definitely. She sighed and fished her phone out of her pocket, flipping it open and watching as the dull screen came to life. The time was 5:23 am. She pushed the chair back and realized that her music had stopped long ago and she hadn't noticed. Maybe it was the perfect time to take a peek in the kitchen and see if there was anything stocked up. Surely there would be, right? If nothing else, coffee would help tremendously.

Taking to her feet, she stretched and shook away her tiredness the best she could, ignoring the fussiness in her brain from lack of sleep. She doubted she would be able to sleep if she tried and there was no use in wasting time laying down only to rise a few hours later with no progress.

Pushing open the door, she stepped out of the room and into the lounge, hoping it was empty. With her hope came disappointment and her "babysitter" lay on the leather sofa, the red cloak a sharp contrast against the dark grey surface. He stared up at the ceiling and didn't bother to acknowledge her appearance. She wondered if she should bother, but she opened her mouth anyway as she passed by the couch.

"I see you're an early bird." Stella observed and scanned the kitchen.

"I never slept." Vincent's short response confirmed her suspicions. She quickly found the coffee grounds and carafe among the kitchen appliances, all shiny and new.

"That makes two of us. Coffee?" She asked and heard the man shift on the sofa, his tangled mess of black hair shown as he leaned up and looked over the back of the couch.

"Don't fret over me." He gave and she began to spoon the coffee grounds into the paper filter.

"Fret? I'm not fretting. It's easy to put more water in if you want some. It's not a big deal." Stella almost scoffed. She paused by the sink and waited, her hand on the handle. The man took a moment.

"Okay, go ahead." He permitted and she filled the carafe up accordingly.

Silence lingered as Stella worked to brew the coffee and she felt a small tinge of familiarity. Around this time, she would be doing the same thing at the Kalm Inn, begging Damien not to cook the eggs. She wondered how he was coping now and how quickly a new person would be hired to replace her. It was unreal, being anywhere other than the inn with the monotonous ticking of the clock and the worries about room keys and property damage. She almost felt homesick, but that was ridiculous.

She was working on what she wanted to work on and even if she was in unfamiliar waters with new, unfamiliar people… she could manage and it surely would be better than remaining in the dull routine that was sapping her happiness. Would it be easy? No and the members of AVALANCHE made that clear, but she was already getting the easy way. All she had to do was hang onto her position and continue to make things to help out. She wasn't like the others and she doubted she'd be thrust into any position besides a developer behind the scenes.

And that was perfect for her. She could help out and maybe make a difference without getting in the way, yet still was able to tag along and have her own sense of adventure. Just knowing that she was halfway across the world now felt so much different and really spectacular to her.

Before she knew it, the carafe was filled with steaming black coffee, the rich nutty roasted aroma met her nose and she already felt more awake. She opened a few of the cabinets and found the one with a few mugs. The plates and cutlery were really basic, most likely only suiting the need for this ship, but a few of the mugs were interesting. Almost all of them were "come see Rocket Town" tourist mugs that had hand painted lettering on them.

She poured up both mugs and dumped a considerable amount of sugar into her mug. Checking the refrigerator for any milk or coffee creamer, she surveyed it's contents. A few basic things like hamburger meat and eggs and a head of lettuce. Enough to make dinner. She decided she would think of a meal plan later. Pouring a little milk into her coffee, she left it on the countertop and pulled out the case of eggs. Breakfast sounded amazing.

"Hey, Vincent? Do you want sugar or milk or anything in your coffee?" She called and the man answered back from behind the couch.

"No." Simply put.

Nothing to add, she took the "_Rocket Town: out of this world hospitality_" mug in her hand and stepped around the bar and to the couch. She set the mug down on the metal coffee table and Vincent looked over at it from where he laid.

"I'm going to make eggs. How you do want the-" Her question wasn't fully out before he answered her.

"Scrambled. With cheese." He knew what she was going to ask. Pushing himself up, he pulled the mug to the edge of the table and closer to his grasp. "Please." he added. At least he was polite. She pressed her lips together and nodded as she stepped away.

Once at the countertop again, she took a long sip and the coffee and silently willed it to clear her head. Eating something would help and the eggs beckoned her. Now it really was like cooking for the inn.

She let autopilot take over and she quickly found the skillets and pans, taking the skillet and whisking the eggs in a bowl. These were chicken eggs, so they didn't need to be cooked as long as hearty chocobo eggs. In no time, like a code carrying out a function, she had a skillet full of scrambled eggs, a nice layer of shredded cheddar. She looked around and only found basic seasoning in a cabinet above the stove, which she frowned on. Her mother would yell if their pantry at home lacked so much seasoning salts, pepper rubs, and spices. Still, she lightly salted the eggs and called it finished.

Dividing the eggs up, she shoveled them onto the bare plates, which paled in comparison to the colorful tourist mugs. Making sure she had a good hold of everything, she brought both plates and her own coffee mug into the lounge area. With care, she set Vincent's plate down in front of him. He sipped his coffee and muttered something incomprehensible, but she liked to think it was a thanks. She could save herself the trouble of a strangely quiet and awkward breakfast, and she even took a step towards the workroom, but she resolved to just sit on the sofa opposite of the man.

He didn't look up and pulled the plate into his lap. Like she thought, none of the silence from before was broken and instead the sounds of forks against plates and quiet sips of coffee was all that graced their ears. She wondered why exactly he kept the, strangely costume like cloak on when he had to pull the high collar down from his face to eat.

She had compared this to her mornings at the inn, but realized now that it was nothing like that.

Once she was finished, she set the plate in front of her and took the mug in her hands, planning to finish it off first. Vincent had finished far before her and peered into his mug, avoiding looking at her. Understandable.

"So… what do you do at AVALANCHE. Cid said you were a good marksman." Stella began, offering to ask and break the ice a little. The man looked up, his strange brassy gauntlet tapped on the side of the mug.

"I am. I help out and do what is needed." His response was vague. She took a sip on the coffee, which was growing lukewarm.

"Anything specific?" She asked and he paused, looking down into his mug again.

"I have skills in fighting. That's where I'm most helpful." He offered, giving just a little more. She didn't know if he just didn't want to talk to her or if he was shy, but she tended to think the latter as he didn't look annoyed with her yet.

"That's a common trend here. It seems like that's everyone's deal." She sighed out, swirling the last sip of the coffee around in the mug. The man returned a hum in response and she figured that's all she would get from him. It was worth a shot anyway.

Downing the last bit of her coffee, Stella grabbed her plate and pushed herself off the couch only for Vincent to stand up with her.

"I'll take that." His statement took her off guard. He held out his hands to take her plate and mug, but she needed to make sure she didn't misunderstand.

"What?" Her question was short and he took the plate and mug from her hand anyway.

"You cooked so I'll clean. It's common courtesy." He gave simply, stacking her plate on his.

"Oh, well I won't argue with that. Thanks." She gave and he was silent as he took the dishware to the countertops. She watched for a moment and spoke up, "Hey, i'm not gonna be in the workroom for a while. I'll be back later, if you… um, need anything." She said and his next statement paid her no mind.

"In a few hours, when the sun rises and it's warmer, you're getting in shooting practice." He gave as a soft order. That's right, Cloud had asked him to do that. She wasn't entirely happy to hear that and the thought of shooting a strange gun with a strange man wasn't ideal.

"Okay. Thanks." Her response was lackluster as she turned on her heel and went into the workroom.

Closing the door behind her, she rummaged through her suitcase and found an outfit, sweatpants and a black tank. She pulled some toiletries that she kept in a makeup bag and brought them along. Taking her leave out of the workroom, she saw that Vincent was in fact serious about washing up everything, his gauntlet lay to the side of the sink. Again, he paid her no attention.

Taking the route that she remembered, she continued past the lounge area and down the hallway where an open area displayed several doors. One led to the sleeping quarters that everyone shared, a bunch of bunk style beds. She hated the idea of sleeping in a bed under someone, but no one had called their beds yet and Stella hadn't either. She didn't even know if she snored and she didn't want to embarrass herself like that. Another door led to the new gym, which before was a room used for an arsenal, if Stella remembered what Tifa had said correctly.

The last door was to the community style shower room, which Stella was thrown off by. Like a sports gym, a bunch of showers lined the room and everything was tiled with a changing stall in the back. Tifa had said it was left over from the ship's use before, being more of a military vessel. At least now shower curtains separated the showerheads, but Stella would make sure only to come in here when everyone was accounted for in other parts of the ship.

Opening the door, the slow drip of one of the leaky showerheads was heard echoing through the room. She would definitely take the shower in the back of the room as a precaution. She slid her boots and socks off at the entrance and made her way towards the changing stall near the back. She'd put her stuff on the bench in there, she decided. Walking past the cells of showers created by the curtain walls, one thing caught her attention.

In the second to last shower, the source of the dripping, the sides of the curtains had beaded water droplets clinging to them and water pooled up on the tile. Among that was a grated shelf system that hung from the showerhead and in it lay… a bar of soap? It caught her eye, the red of the soap, which actually displayed a rose frozen in it's center. Strange, it must be her babysitter's left behind soap, she reasoned.

Giving it no more thought, she went along with her business and decided to lock the shower door, which she was more than glad was an option.


	8. Shooting Practice

The coffee and shower had woken Stella up enough to return to her desk for another few hours of work. She got a call about an hour in from Damien, asking her how she was and telling her that Penelope wanted to go outside and roam the streets. After telling him it was fine, he begged her to be smart and the call ended, letting her return to work.

And return to work she did, making the coil and aluminum shell that she needed, using her larger model for comparison. Now, she was testing the power of the battery that she had modified herself to be smaller, using the guts of a mako battery. She wanted to conduct a test manually before she wrote the backend code. Had to make sure it worked and how well before hours of programming were done.

So she pulled out her multimeter and clamped the tester probe onto the copper coil, making sure to set the dial accordingly. Taking a deep breath, she had to mentally prepare herself for anything, this being the first test. As much as she hoped she could go onto the next step without a hitch, she knew it wasn't likely. Making sure her yellow safety glasses were pushed high on her nose, she pressed the activation switch and watched as the blue arching glow frayed out into the air. The numbers on the screen of the multimeter began to tick up as the glow grew brighter, the crackling in the room grew.

25mmA….30mmA….35mmA

Almost, she knew it could reach forty-five. It was so close.

The crackling became more erratic and she watched in amazement as it glowed brighter.

45mmA….60mmA...

She watched in bewilderment. No, not sixty. It's not that powerful. Just as the doubt passed her mind, the blue electricity arched up in a charged, reverberating crackle. She was grateful for the glasses, or else she might have too much of an impression burned in her vision to snatch for the control switch. Flipping it off as quickly as she could, she stood back and watched as the arc flickered and scattered in the air until it became a subdued flutter and died out. The numbers on the multimeter had to catch up and slowly rolled down to zero.

After a long, experimental moment, she held her hand over the device, which seemed okay from inspection on the outside. There was light warmth from it, so she dared to touch it and found that it held no charge and wasn't too hot. It had been on for mere seconds, but it was still warm to the touch. Carefully, using a hex key screwdriver, she twisted the tiny screws out of their spots and put them into a small box to keep them from rolling. On the outside everything looked okay, but on the inside?

"Oh, fucking- come on!" She gave in an exasperated cry. The battery was oozing blackened, corroded mako inside the shell. Quickly, she shut the shell and pinched it tight while she rummaged for a plastic bag. There was only a quarter ounce of mako in a battery like this, but it was enough to burn her skin if she touched it or make her sick if she breathed it. The harsh acidic and vinegary scent of the mako, now charred and burned, made her recoil. Plucking up the bag, she set the shell into it and set it on her desk, ignoring the charred black streak that lay on the surface. It would wipe off easily later.

For now, she needed to find that small bottle of oil based alkaline cleanser that would neutralize the acid in the corroded mako so she could recover the shell.

A knock came on the door and she suspected as much, with how loud that mishap was. Abandoning her search for cleaner, she pulled the door open and did little to greet her babysitter. He stood in the doorway and peered in, looking over her work desk and the various amounts of wires, chips, and scrap metal. After a moment he spoke.

"Are you making a bomb?" He asked, standing in place as if he didn't feel okay with stepping inside. She didn't blame him. It looked like she was constructing a death weapon, which was only partially true.

"Gah, I wish. With a bomb, there would be less trial and error." She groaned. "But I assume you heard that? Don't worry, just a malfunction." she trailed off, upset with having to admit it out loud.

"Good. With a bomb, you'd have only one trial and one error." he stated flatly before adding, "You're lucky."

"Yeah… right." She gave before commenting, "Sometimes it can be just as bad as a bomb, for me at least. I've already been electrocuted before, but I have been lucky." Her muttered words trailed off as silence. The man still stood in the doorway.

"Don't electrocute yourself then." He gave unhelpfully and she gave him a look. Before she could make a comment, he pointed at something on her desk. "Grab that, let's go outside." He ordered and she followed his finger. The gun lay at the far end of her desk, far away from any exposure to electricity. She had set it there and hadn't dared touch it since. Knowing it was loaded, she made sure to be as safe as possible.

"Now? Are we really gonna shoot outside right now?" Her voice wavered and he gave a vague grunt as an answer. Immediately, she felt dread wash over her. She didn't want to pick it up, but didn't want to seem ungrateful or uncooperative. Besides, Cloud was probably expecting her to have some kind of gun training by the time the group returned and it was arguably an essential skill with how much she was going to be exposed to. With hesitation, she carefully scooped up the gun, holding it how she was instructed before.

That was enough and Vincent took no time setting off down the hallway. Taking a quick look over her work station, she flipped the light off and chased after him. Catching up, she had to maintain a half skip to keep up, his walking pace was a little too fast. He led her past the conference room and to the sealed, metal door that led outside. Taking a moment to prepare herself, she watched as he pressed a button on a console on the wall. The hiss of the pressure locks releasing signaled the rest of the metal door sliding open to show the outside.

Stepping out into the sunlight, Stella looked out over the railing and to the land surrounding the ship. Overgrown grass and weeds spanned a meadow that led up to the edge of a dense forest. The trees stretched tall into the sky, taller than the walls of Kalm, Stella guessed, and their trunks were heavily concealed by thick shrubbery and briars. The bark of the trunks hardly peaked out under the thick moss and tangle of twisting vines that made their way in clusters up to the treetops. The only break in the wall of nature was a narrow path that disappeared into darkness under the shadows of the trees. The thought of venturing in was foreboding and she suddenly felt extremely lucky for her status as a newbie, glad that instead of laying awake in fear in a tent, she could stay on the ship and also not sleep.

"Wow… I've always heard from travelers about these forests, but this is...more than what I was expecting." She muttered to herself.

Vincent said nothing and instead walked to the edge of the railed platform, stopping by the gate. They were maybe ten feet above the grass on the boarding platform and Vincent wasted no time in pulling the rusted lever by the gate, the foam handle was cracked and dry rotted from the elements. With a shudder and the squeal of mechanisms under the platform, the boarding ramp slid out to the ground and with its extension complete, the gate unlocked and swung open.

Stella followed the tall shadow of a man as he made his way down the ramp and into the knee high grass, which swayed in the chilly breeze. She had to drag her feet through the thick blades until the man stopped a little way into the center of the meadow. Right, it was time for a gun safety lesson.

"Something just occurred to me." Stella began, her nervousness bubbling up, "Cid said there were surveyors and Shinra military out in the forest and guns are loud. Today might not be the best time for this, don't you think? I'd rather go back inside and make lunch than give any trigger happy soldiers a reason to snoop around." She tried and the man had no change in expression as he reached under his cloak.

"I'll take care of any snoopers." His voice flat as ever. Finding what he was searching for, he pulled out a red apple, something he must have fished from the kitchen. Surely that wasn't his idea of assuring her lunch concern.

"What's with the apple?" She asked and almost pointed with what she held in her hand, but realized that pointing a gun at him was not proper etiquette.

"This is your target. It's bright and red and if you can shoot this, you can get a headshot from thirty feet away." He explained, rocking the fruit in the grasp of his clawed gauntlet. A headshot? He was right but it wasn't exactly the kind of thing she wanted to hear so soon after the previous day's incident.

"Oh, nice." Stella muttered flatly, which was either ignored or not heard. "You're serious?" she asked as he still held the apple in his hand. He didn't seem the type to joke.

"I'm going to throw it into the air and you're going to shoot it. When there's no more apple to shoot, we'll go inside and consider practice done." He ignored what she said, inadvertently answering her. She gave him a look and let herself become speechless.

Vincent tossed the apple up into the air and she let her eyes follow it as it was contrasted by the blue sky. It came back down into his palm with a faint thunk. He gave a blank look at the apple in his hand and then looked back up to her, his brows pinched forward.

"You didn't take a shot…" He trailed off, dejected.

"Right. I didn't think you meant right now." She answered dumbly. In response, he gave her a cue this time, pointing at the apple with his clawed finger and then up at the sky.

She took a deep breath and got ready, not having much time to hesitate. With a flick of his wrist, the apple was in flight and Stella took a few steps back and aimed as best she could, not having time to be perfect in the apple's descent. She pulled the trigger and was not at all concerned if she hit the apple. She was more concerned with the earsplitting explosion that echoed off the trees and the lack of a good grasp she had on the gun after it nearly kicked itself out of her hands, she paled and brought the weapon down. She didn't want to shoot it again. She wanted to be done.

Mentally, she talked herself into complacency. It was her first time, of course it was scary. She wasn't expecting the sound or the kick and now she knew what to watch for. Surely that was it and next time wouldn't be so bad. It wasn't much different than her own weapons, her own dangerous explosions of life threatening voltage or metal melting lasers. At least a gun wouldn't malfunction in her hand so she had nothing to be afraid of, right?

"Again." Vincent signaled, the intact apple lay in perfect condition in his palm. This time, she took her aim before he threw it, making sure to hold it more firm. This time would be better. This time would be less scary.

The apple made its ascension and again she took her shot, all hope that she would be prepared was shattered with the silence as the gunshot assaulted her eardrums. It was too much, so soon after the day before. She didn't want to hear another gunshot. Lowering the gun, she looked down at the grass that brushed against her knees.

"I'm done, I can't do this." Her admittal rushed out. "Here, take it back. I can't use this." With that, she held the gun to him, making sure the barrel was pointed down. He looked down at her urgent offering, the apple held by his side. He didn't make any move to take the gun back.

"I'm not ready for this. I appreciate it, but I'll figure it out some other-" She tried again but his head shot up and his interruption was sharp. The abrupt change was shocking and left a pit in her stomach.

"Shh!" He urged and shut his eyes. What did he hear? She froze and waited for some indication. The only thing she got was Vincent holding his hand out for the gun. Wait, was she shushing her? Stella placed the gun in his hand and he flipped it into his grasp.

His next action was a blur of red, his tattered cloak fluttered like fire as he spun towards the tree line. In an all too familiar and damning gunshot, the woods fell silent after the reverberation and Stella was left to search for a clue as she was shaken to the point of silence. Vincent stared at the tree line, lowering the gun as he waited. Not long after, a man in a familiar blue uniform tumbled out of the brambles and to the ground, his hand grasping over his gushing throat. He listened and Stella realized he was waiting for another that never came. Instead, the frantic sounds of leaves and twigs snapping and crunching faded as whoever was hiding fled.

"The other "snooper" ran away. This could be trouble." He observed after some time, his eyes still lingered at the forest edge. Hesitantly, he turned back towards her, holding the same gun out to her. "We'll finish this and head inside. I'll look out in case they return. Practice so you can get them before they get you." He finished, nodding to the gun in his hand.

Stella was still trying to process what the hell just happened. He was so nonchalant about it, totally unphased. He had shot someone dead and turned around like it was nothing.

"How did you know?" She asked, absently taking the gun back, her eyes resting on the weapon.

"I heard them walk up while you were handing that back. I think they were planning to use the distraction as an opportunity." He answered and she took a deep breath.

She was being stupid. Sure it was scary and she knew she was not at all comfortable with the gun in her hands, but it was as the man said. She needed to protect herself first and she'd never be able to if she refused to try. She stepped into a new world when she agreed to come with Cloud and Tifa and now she had to do her part and her part may involve more than simply making weapons. She might have to use weapons at some point, and not just her own. It was unfair that she knew nothing, not to mention dangerous. Putting off learning because she hated the way a gun felt in her hands and the way it sounded when she fired was ridiculous and she would have to get over it.

But it wouldn't be easy and she knew this from the beginning.

"Okay… okay." She began, "Let's see if I can hit that apple at least once."


	9. Running Low

The gentle simmer and bubble was a gentle reminder to keep her attention divided as she typed away, the clacking in tune with the soft popping of the night's dinner. After a line of important code was typed and saved, Stella pulled away from the bar where her laptop lay and over to the stove, a large and deep pot beckoned her. It wasn't too dissimilar to the large pots that the Kalm Inn used for when they made soups, it's size was perfect for a large number of people. She dipped the red tinged wooden spoon in and stirred the chili around, the aroma was warm and full of spice, making her crave a bowl of it that instant. She had recently made herself a lacking lunch, so she wasn't hungry but the smell was enticing. After all, this wasn't for her.

The shooting practice the day before had gone okay in her opinion, but perhaps underwhelming for a professional like Vincent, or so she assumed. She managed to graze the apple once and after that returned to the safety of the ship, afraid of any backup for the one Shinra security guard coming back to investigate. She knew that it would be hard to break into the ship, but it was still bothersome. Her brain felt like it buzzed from another sleepless night, but she was too paranoid to sleep. Besides, she needed to tie a bow on the project and she did exactly that.

It was around sunrise that morning that she had a functioning miniature model of the "pancake" design.

Now she was trying to fix the kink in the code of the taser net ball, and finding a new name for it that wasn't monotonous wasn't the only thing that frustrated her to no end. She was having to write a lot of code to try to fix it and work around the problem and it wasn't easy. Feeling down to the line, she had brought the laptop into the lounge area to multitask, hoping to finish up while she made chili, two things she wanted to finish before the team members came back. There had been no word yet about what was happening outside or on the mission besides that they would back before sundown.

The least she could do was fix everyone's food after their mission and chili was the best thing she could manage with the limited supplies in the kitchen.

She didn't know if anyone would like chili but no one struck her as a picky eater and there was someone bound to like it. If nothing else, she tried her best.

The chili was nearly finished, so she reduced the heat to a simmer and returned to her laptop. She had a few more lines of code to rewrite before she could test it. That was over in no time and she nervously traced her fingers over her arm and winced before she unplugged the processor and picked up the metal contraption. This was a dry run and she hadn't bothered to place the battery in yet, but she still needed to test the spinning and net ejection mechanism.

She shifted it around and was apprehensive before she shook it. Last time, the delay didn't work and when she had fixed that, the ejection didn't work. Sometimes, it would take fixing it a hundred times and other times only a handful. If she had to guess, this was her thirtieth time since that morning and every time had some sort of failure.

"That's a large pot." A voice spoke from behind her. She looked around to see the tall man for the first time that day, given that he wasn't on the sofa when she had left her workroom just shy of an hour ago. She set the contraption on the edge of the bar and answered him.

"Yeah, it's for everyone. It's the best I can do right now." Stella admitted and watched as her contraption rolled off the counter. Right, it was round.

Before she could catch it, it hit the floor with a clank and in a moment the familiar and welcomed whir of the spinning mechanism sounded. The metallic net was flung out as the ball rolled and latched onto the closed metal thing. Vincent's pointy armored shoes. The man stared down at it and kicked it off his foot. Surprisingly, with enough force, the magnets detached and the ball was sent across the floor and into the side of the counter. She stared at the ball as it came to a rolling hault and the new retraction mechanism pulled the mesh net back into place. It didn't look like it was too roughed up or damaged, but Stella still felt annoyed.

"Really, Vincent? It's not a fucking soccer ball." She snapped and bent down to scoop it up. There was no visible damage to her relief. The important thing was that she had fixed the code. It worked this time. She gave it another shake.

"I thought it was dangerous." Vincent answered, taking a step back as he watched the net spin out again and fall over her arms, the metallic mesh was gentle with no spark to light it up. She couldn't blame him there.

"Okay, sorry I snapped, that's fair. If this was rigged up, you'd definitely wanna kick it away." She admitted as the internal timer counted down and the net retracted. She sighed and waited a moment before she shook it again, "It's working now. I think that's it, but some more testing wouldn't harm anything. You just gave this its first durability test." She gave with a laugh as the net spun out again, reminding her of an aquatic animal.

He made no comment and glanced over to her laptop at the hundreds of lines of code. Knowing that he most likely wouldn't ask, she piped up anyway.

"This is what got me this job. It's supposed to spin out and this mesh holds around nine amps… meaning that it's close to deadly depending on the circumstance. The magnets cling to any metal nearby and… well, zap." Again, the mesh pulled back into the compartment. She thinks she had a name for the contraption. "It's my most recent prototype. I think I'll call it a "Jellyfish" for now. Better than what I was calling it." She trailed off. Yeah, that sounded right. She didn't really care if the man had any input on the name and she doubted he did.

Deciding that she had shaken it enough, she sat it down and pushed her coffee cup up to it to prevent it from rolling again. The cup was near empty and she felt like she needed another cup. She knew she was pushing it and she was extremely exhausted, but she couldn't sleep yet. If she had slept the past few days, she knew she wouldn't be to this point yet and she needed to have this finished. Not just for the others, but for herself. She needed for what she made to have a purpose and now was her time.

Sleep would only get in her way. Stella would rest after she cleared everything with Cloud or Tifa. It wouldn't be long now and she wasn't empty handed so she could relax just a tiny bit now.

"You can fix yourself a bowl, Vincent, if you want to. The chili is done now."

* * *

Cloud wanted nothing more than to lay still and not move. After the mission's failure and the new info they got on the situation, they would have to plan what to do next and he felt like he was running on empty. With the poor sleep, fighting, and running from place to place that they had all done, the team deserved a rest and he didn't want to force any of them out of it. That's why they needed to meet and determine what they needed to do.

And that was the last thing he wanted to do.

"Damn, I wish I had something more to chew on than this butt." Cid muttered, spitting the cigarette butt off into the brush. The low light of the setting sun barely pierced the thick leaves overhead, but it was enough to show the tired state of everyone. Cid had a long scratch on his arm from being thrown into a tree, the smeared blood had long since dried into a dark burgundy.

"You're gonna chew on my fist if you don't shut up about food. We're all hungry." Barret grumbled back, smacking a branch out of the way. Nobody was in a good mood, it seemed, so at least Cloud didn't have to pretend he was peachy when he felt miserable. The cargo he carried was beginning to feel cumbersome and the sway of the two swords he carried made him more than eager to shrug off every heavy thing, the straps dug into his shoulders.

"Arguing about it isn't going to help anything." Another, deeper voice joined in. An old face who had found them yesterday in the midst of chaos, he walked alongside them through the overgrown path, his tail swishing back and forth. Cloud was glad for Red, saying what he himself didn't really wanna say or bother with right now.

"As nice as food sounds, I'm dreaming of a shower." Tifa spoke up, her state was the poorest of them all. She had been dragged through the mud just a few hours ago. Her hair was tangled and clods of dirt clung to the strands. She was going to have a hell of a time in the shower, Cloud determined. A smear of the red dirt streaked her cheek like battle paint. She was unlucky, and Cloud recalled the exact moment the mech had knocked her into the muddy bank.

"You don't have to dream long. We're almost there and everyone can put together sandwiches and take showers and rest before we decide what's next." Cloud confirmed after clearing his throat.

"Good, I was going to question your authority if you didn't let me run for the shower, boss." Tifa teased half-heartedly. Not this again. She had been milking that tease for two days now.

"Don't start that again." He groaned, pushing past jutting branches and wayward vines. The light beyond the thick brush and trees signaled their proximity to the clearing. Cloud sighed with relief and trekked on behind Barret, ignoring the bushes that slapped against his arms.

One by one, they all stepped out into the tall grass of the clearing, the distant red rocks peeked over the horizon beyond the Highwind. The warm reflection of the setting sun reflected on the metal airship and the air was cooling by the second. Cloud pulled the collar of his jacket up around his face, thrilled that they didn't have to spend another night outside in the cold. The sleeping bags were okay but he really couldn't wait to sink into the bed in the dorm room.

It would still be a while until then, with everyone hassling to shower and calling their bunks. Cloud even thought about skipping dinner in favor of hurrying the process along. To be honest, he didn't even know what Cid had stocked up in the pantries and with their short notice meeting, it likely wasn't much. It was better to let everyone else eat first.

Cloud could manage. He always did.

Cid stepped up to the front of the group and lowering the boarding ramp. Everyone joined the pilot on the march up the ramp, their footsteps on the metal was welcomed after a few days of stepping on nothing but leaves, sticks, and pulling their boots out of sticky earth. The sound of the air locked door hissing and shuttering open was like music to Cloud and everyone else too. Cid went on without much hesitation, eager to survey the state of his ship.

"Man am I glad to be back on this ship." Barret commented, scratching his neck as he stepped inside, followed by Red, and made their way down the hallway towards the conference room. Tifa stopped and brushed at her pants and sleeves in some attempt to shake the dried dirt from her clothes before she tracked it inside. She knocked her shoes on the metal and a few clumps fell off. She had done her best but she was still covered. Looking up, she smiled and covered her mouth as she looked at him.

"Cloud, you have a lot of leaves in your hair. A lot." She half giggled. He was glad she still had some humor left. Getting coated in mud hadn't soiled her mood.

"It's my new garden." He said flatly, trying to match some level of humor but Tifa's awkward laugh told him he failed.

"Right, well we don't wanna bring the garden with us." Tifa half laughed, pulling her padded gloves off and unleashing a powdered trickle of dirt.

"Since you're getting rid of the desert in your gloves, I can bargain." He responded and let his hand brush through his messed up hair, his fingers snagged halfway through.

"Ah, lemme help." Tifa offered, lifting her hand up. He ducked away.

"Nope." He uttered and flipped his head down, shaking his hair free from leaves and twigs and whatever else was taking hold of his hair. The flora and fauna fell and gathered on the metal grate under their feet.

Barret's distant voice echoed down the hallway, his loud words were muffled from inside.

"Wonder what's got him excited. I'm cold enough, let's go." Tifa urged. Cloud picked the last twig from his hair and followed her in, shutting the door behind him, the lock sealed the warmth of the ship in with them. He followed Tifa along, her muddied hair swayed behind her, only minorly burdened by the weight of the dirt. Once they were past the conference room, a nice and mouth watering aroma began to make itself known.

"Do you smell that?" Tifa asked and Cloud nodded, straightening the sword on his back so it didn't scratch the paint off the walls off the narrow hallway. It had happened before when he hadn't been paying attention and he wasn't in the mood to have Cid fuss at him for it. No, all he wanted to do now was find the source of the aroma of warm spice in the air, and given Barret's chuckling from the room ahead, he was going in the right direction.

Tifa stopped just before him as the hallway opened to the lounge and Cloud peered in over her shoulder. Vincent was sitting on the leather sofa, peering into a bowl of what looked and smelled like chili. Across the room at the bar, Barret held his bowl out as the new member spooned out the stew for him. He had momentarily forgotten about Stella with all the chaos the day had brought, and when he remembered, he nearly muttered "shit". He didn't wanna tell her yet that he had lost the detonator for her...EFG? There needed to be a new name for it, but that wasn't a big issue. He didn't want to be the bearer of bad news, not yet anyway.

"No ham sandwiches for dinner tonight!" Barret cheered as he looked up at the other members, grinning, "Nope, miss chef whipped up some grub." He complimented, setting the bowl at the end of the bar, where he would take his seat, and gave the woman a pat on the back. She gave a small smile and cleared her throat.

"No sandwiches for anyone, there's no more bread." Stella admitted, laying the ladle down and making her way around the bar to her laptop, "I hope everyone likes chili." she added as she plucked the familiar instrument from the bar. It was the same one that she threw at the inn, or so he assumed.

"It smells amazing, Stella. I can't wait to have a bowl, but…" Tifa trailed off and gave a laugh in spite of herself, motioning down at her state, "I need to clean up first." Her statement was regarded and Stella gave her a sympathetic once over.

"Geez, you've been through it. Don't worry, the chili is on simmer so it'll be waiting for you." The woman gave, rolling the weapon around in her hand like a toy. Tifa took a few steps in here retreat towards the showers, but not without a proper goodbye.

"Thanks, you're a life saver. And Cloud? Don't wait up, I know how you are." She scolded and pointed at him, already on his case.

"Okay, alright, I know." He dismissed, knowing what she was talking about.

While he agreed with her point, he still had the habit of waiting it out before fixing himself a plate to make sure that everyone else got fed. He didn't mind so much and with the times that AVALANCHE had barely scraped up enough food for everyone, he thought it was better to have someone else go to sleep full. He could manage after all. Judging from the pot on the stove, it looked like there was more than enough and possibly enough for leftovers. A bowl of chili was certainly more appetizing than a sandwich.

"Looky here, Red. They're fixing plates without us." Cid announced, making his arrival clear as he entered the lounge. Cloud looked over his shoulder to Red padding up, sniffing the air and letting his gaze rest on the new member. She too looked back, her face lighting up and a delighted smile graced her face.

"Oh, right. This is our new member, Stella," Cloud motioned at the woman, "And Stella, this is Red." Cloud finished his quick introduction, which seemed effective enough. He expected a "nice to meet you" or some gesture of acknowledgment from the two, but that wasn't what happened. Instead, Stella knelt down on the floor and extended her free hand out to Red. He gave Cloud a concerned glance before Stella spoke up.

"Hey there, buddy. You're so pretty. You remind me of my kitty at home." She began in the most terrible, babyish voice. Her unassuming grin meant the worst. Cloud hadn't even considered that a talking beast like Red would be anything shocking to Stella, but that was his mistake. Of course she thought he was a pet, what else was she supposed to think. Barret looked over his shoulder to watch, Cid was cringing. Cloud opened his mouth to say anything to get her to stop but Red spoke up first.

"Get your hand away from my face." He warned, his ears tugged backward and his tail lashed. He was surprisingly calm and Cloud was stunned that he didn't show a touch of a growl in his voice.

Stella reacted slowly, her grin dropped and her hand retreated into her other. She pressed her lips together and blinked, looking up to Cloud and Cid for some kind of explanation to confirm that she had just heard what she heard. An incredulous laugh escaped her and she shook her head.

"I must have shocked myself too much." She muttered, taking to her feet. "For a second I thought-"

"This is humiliating." Red groaned, taking his attention away from Stella and stepping around her to pad toward the sofa. "Degraded to being compared to a house cat." and with that Barret chuckled from the bar.

Cloud let out a breath and pressed his fingers to his forehead, hoping to rub away the second-hand embarrassment. Stella gaped at Red, fiddling with the contraption in her hands.

"No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to degrade you sir, um mister." She struggled and Red paid her no mind as he curled up beside the sofa.

"Forget about it." he dismissed, his tail curling up to rest over his hind leg. Stella stood and stared down at him, looking from the beast to the pot on the stove.

"Okay, right, forget about it." She murmured to herself. "Bad introduction. Instead, can I get you a bowl? Do you eat chili?" She asked. He glanced up at her and gave a resigned sigh.

"I do… but not right now." He answered, letting his head rest on his paws. Stella gave a nod and Cid came up and gave her a mocking pat on the back.

"Hehe, thought you'd pet the kitty, huh? You're lucky he didn't bite your hand off." Cid patronized, laughing to himself as he treads past her toward the stove. She gave a halfhearted laugh in return and Cloud, whose attention came back to his present state, tugged the backpack from his shoulders and swung it down to rest at the back of the sofa. He left the sword in place, as it's weight didn't bother him and he'd likely have it on him until he lay down to sleep. And speaking of sleep, he wanted to hurry up and eat so that he could lay down.

To his frustration, the new member turned her attention to him, rolling her contraption around in her hand. He got the feeling he was in for a tech demo but he wasn't feeling it right now. He dug around in his pockets for the contraption he borrowed so that he could hurry and give it back.

"You know, maybe next time, you could give more of a heads up. A "Hey Stella, let me introduce you, please don't try to pet our member and insult his dignity." would have been just fine…" She began, "But whatever." She dejected, a grin in spite of herself rested on her face.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Cloud muttered, sucking in his cheeks, as he held out the borrowed contraption, hoping she would ignore the smear of red clay on the metallic surface. "Here's your thingy, sorry but I couldn't hold onto the detonator." Cloud offered and she took it in her free hand, turning it about to inspect it.

"Oh, that's no problem. I'm sure I can make another one. Maybe one that's harder to lose this time." She offered her thought aloud and let it drop into her pocket, no real concern over the dried dirt on it. Instead of fussing over the detonator, she held up the familiar and shiny new metallic ball, her eyes lit up. "But for now, remember this? I've made good progress and fixed this and I also have something else to show you that's more useful. I do need to mention that getting some extra supplies wouldn't hurt and-" Cloud waved his hand, a gesture that properly interjected and interrupted her spill. She gave him a concerned look that he didn't pay much attention to.

"Thanks, but let's talk about this later." He nearly groaned and Stella looked down and nodded.

"Okay, yeah, later. Then, do you want to look at the new tech that I've finished?" She asked, not entirely getting his drift. He sighed and folded his arms over his chest. He wished Tifa was here to add some kind of softness, but Cloud would have to try his best.

"Maybe in the morning, okay? I'm not up to it and I doubt I could understand any specifics right now." He began to explain but saw that he didn't need to say anything further. Stella nodded and sucked in her cheeks, her gaze cast downwards.

"Okay, I get it." She muttered and took an awkward step back. "I'll er… be working if you need anything else." Not bothering to hang around for any further comment, the dark haired girl turned away and retreated to the small room, pulling the heavy door closed behind her. Good, she took that well, Cloud thought.

In her absence, the room was quiet for a moment before Cid let a low whistle escape him. He plopped down on the sofa next to Vincent, who barely looked up when his friend spread in his legs and took up half the space. Cid of course, didn't notice and was more focused on whatever mocking point he was thinking up, a grin spread across his face.

"Damn Cloud, you scared her off real quick. How mad do you think she is?" Cid half joked, giving an exuberant laugh and elbowing his pal. "What you think, Vince?" his question hung in the air while Vincent gave a sigh and set down his spoon.

"What?" Vincent asked, but Cloud was sure he had heard the question. How could he not with Cid's echoing voice. Surely Stella could hear on the other side of that door as well.

Cloud didn't feel like entertaining any of this.

"Whatever, she didn't seem mad to me." He interjected and went around the sofa, letting his feet take him to the stove, still unsure if eating was worth the effort right now. Sure, he was starving, but he really craved some shut eye.

Sure enough, autopilot took his indecision's place and he cupped a bowl in his hand and poured a few hearty scoops for himself. The smell was warm and homely and it had been a while since he had any hot soup. The bowl warmed his hands as he carried it over to the bar to sit close to Barret, who's bowl was nearing empty already.

"You're looking pretty ragged there, buddy. You're getting old." Barret began, his greeting was light but Cloud knew that Barret was as exhausted as he was. Cloud grinned and plunged his spoon down into the bowl as he got settled on the barstool.

"Older every day." Cloud mumbled before taking his first bite. The chili was flavorful and soothing, and maybe the tiniest bit over seasoned but he didn't mind. He knew after this bowl he would be more than ready to sleep. He could already feel it wash over him now that he was still and warm. There was nothing more to be said between him and Barret so a comfortable silence took any word's place. Cloud zoned out and ignored whatever Red and Cid were talking about in the background.

Before he realized it, the chili was half gone and the clink and chinks of dishes brought his attention out of the fog. Vincent had left his spot and was quietly scrubbing his spoon with a sponge at the sink, a few feet away from Cloud. He hadn't even noticed him walk up, but then again Vincent was always quiet. Something AVALANCHE valued on missions that stealth was required, which reminded him…

"Hey Vincent?" Cloud spoke up and the man hummed in acknowledgment, still polishing off his bowl with the sponge. "How did shooting practice go? You think she can handle herself?" Cloud asked, needing to know so that he could plan for what to do in the future. Maybe he could spare a few materia if the new member couldn't use a gun for backup.

Vincent paused for a moment, as if to think it over, and dried his bowl. He turned and leaned against the countertop.

"No… not yet." His response wasn't what Cloud was hoping to hear. With someone like Vincent helping the new member learn for three days, it wasn't what Cloud was expecting. Vincent, breaking his usual one or two word response, piped up again after his first statement. "With more practice, she'll be better. I only worked with her for an hour."

"An hour? Shit, that's not long enough for anything." Barret commented, sliding his now empty bowl to the side. Vincent deadpanned and Cloud pinched the bridge of his nose.

"What happened to practicing while we were gone?" Cloud half asked Vincent, half complained aloud to himself.

"Stella was busy. She hasn't left that room." His answer made Barret give a small laugh. Cloud looked over to gauge what could have tickled him but didn't need to ask.

"Didn't anyone show her that we have bunks?" He shook his head, "I couldn't ever sleep in that tiny room." Barret's comment hung in the air for a moment and had Cloud recall the first day Stella was on the ship.

"No, Tifa showed her everything and Tifa wouldn't leave out the dorms." Cloud thought aloud and came to the same conclusion that Vincent uttered.

"I don't think she has slept since she's been here."

The statement sunk in and Cloud rested his spoon on his bowl. Suddenly the chili didn't appeal to him. He looked over to see Barret's reaction and Barret had done the same, his brown eyes darted behind him before he groaned aloud.

"Nuh-uh, this isn't gonna cut it. I'm not gonna let one of our own think they gotta work nonstop. We're not a Shinra corporate office." After his declaration, he pushed himself away from the bar and took to his feet. Sighing, Cloud left his bowl and quickly caught up to his friend.

"No, Barret, I'll go talk to her." The blonde interjected, taking a few reluctant steps towards the metal door.

"Are you sure? You're not the best with uh…" he began and let his remark drop from his mouth as he scratched the back of his neck. Cloud know he wasn't the best at talking and that he should let Barret handle it but he felt responsible. It should be him.

"Yeah, I got it." He affirmed, trying to sound sure. He had no clue how he was going to begin a conversation that told a grown woman that she should sleep but if Vincent was correct, then Barret was right. This isn't going to cut it. Not in AVALANCHE when nobody knows when they'll get their next chance to sleep in comfort.

"Besides, I'm the one who gave her a detonator to fix."


	10. Naming Convention

The door shut quietly behind him with a click, the warm and dull lighting of the small room made it feel more like a box than a workspace, the corners darkened where the light failed to reach. There was a sickly familiar acidic scent that lingered in the room, the mako in the batteries that the new member was using. The member herself didn't acknowledge his presence and had her head dipped low, studying a small metal scrap that was pinched between pliers. Her yellow tinted safety glasses rested low on her nose, her focus likely prevented her from pushing them back into place.

"Hey, do you have a minute?" Cloud cleared his throat. Her attention didn't waver and she continued with what she was doing, not giving a word of clearance. The blonde averted his gaze to the wall and shut his eyes as he tried to begin what he was in there for. He folded his arms over his chest and asked himself the best way to begin.

"Um, so…" Cloud began, "I heard you've been busy, maybe a little too much, and you didn't really make time to… well, not make time, but you know…" He trailed off and mentally cursed. Why was he so bad at talking to anyone about things, especially when it came to trying to help? "Point is, you should rest. We are all going to have a big meeting tomorrow about what's next. These next few days will suck so you need to be prepared." He finished and his words echoed in his head. He should have just let Barret handle this.

His words fell into the silent room, only filled with the soft noises of Stella moving things around on the work desk. Her lack of response was unusual and Cloud held his breath. Maybe Cid was right and he had pissed her off. Was she ignoring him?

"Are you mad?" Cloud asked, and still there was no response, "Did I piss you off?" Again, no response. The woman's eyes stayed on her work, stubbornly fixed away from him. His temper flared a little, his arms fell from his chest.

"Seriously? You're ignoring me?" He asked and waited for any response but wasn't surprised when there wasn't one. He exhaled and felt his voice grow cold. "Grow up. I know you're upset but this is childish." He motioned at her. This time, her movements stopped and she lowered her pliers to the table.

Glancing up, she locked eyes with him and startled in her chair, a shrill squeak escaped her along with a few cusses. Her sudden jolt had sent her safety glasses to the ground and her knees hit the bottom ledge of the work table. Dropping her pliers, her hands went to her knees and she groaned as she tried to rub the pain away.

"Dude you can't just walk up on me like that." Her pained voice confused the hell out of him. It wasn't until she tugged a wire from her ears that he understood. Immediately, he felt silly. She hadn't heard anything he said. She wasn't ignoring him.

"Oh, I thought…" He trailed off as she set her earbuds to the side and plucked up her glasses.

"You're lucky I didn't throw something at you. How long have you been standing there anyway?" she asked, brushing off the yellow lenses before placing them back on the bridge of her nose. Her now yellow tinted eyes looked up at him.

"Not long." He lied, somewhat relieved. Now he had another chance to rephrase what he wanted to talk about without it coming out all wrong. "I just wanted to talk for a minute." He admitted, noticing a fleeting spark of concern on the woman's face.

She looked down at her project and began to fiddle with the pliers again.

"Yeah, what is it?" She permitted with a low voice, not really getting back to work but turning her tool around in her hand. The blonde took a deep breath and leaned against the door, trying to make himself more comfortable.

"I was told you haven't slept much, is that right?" He kept it simple and Stella scoffed aloud, plucking up the metallic piece again.

"So Vincent ratted me out. To be fair, I don't think he slept either." She paused and a smart smile took over her lips, "And let me guess, he let you know that I'm pretty lousy with a gun too?" Her tone filled with defensive sarcasm.

"Yep, he kinda said that… but he also said that you didn't practice much either." He told, realizing that his point wasn't coming across as planned when the woman sighed and rubbed her face. "But that can change… after a little rest and some practice." The addition didn't seem to help

"Mhm." the woman agreed halfhearted, "Yeah, maybe after I get this done I'll talk to Vincent about it, if he wants to deal with this in the morning." She noted, bending the metal slice at an angle with her pliers.

"That's the thing, we'll be leaving in the morning. We're heading to Midgar." He announced and her eyes snapped up to him, her brows raised.

"Really? Back to the other side of the planet…" Her surprise diminished and she gave a thoughtful hum before adding, "I should get to work then. Get a few more things prepared for you guys and maybe get some supplies while we're there. I'll make a list." Without wasting a moment, she pulled her old laptop closer and opened a tab. Cloud shook his head.

"No, you can work on all of that tomorrow. We'll have a meeting in the morning and that might help you prepare and besides, you need to sleep too." He urged and she paused and waved her hand at him, dismissing his heavy suggestion.

"That's nice, really, but I need to get this finished." She repeated, and started typing out her list. Cloud really wished Tifa or Barret were in there to help. He didn't know how to make her listen and he was beginning to get frustrated. He was too tired for this shit. He took a deep breath and tried again.

"Stella, get some rest. You're gonna need it. These next few days, there's no telling what our plans are going to be. I can't make you, but you've done enough. We'll get everything settled tomorrow." That was the best Cloud could do. To his relief, she stopped typing and seemed to consider his words. She hesitated, but reached up to close her laptop.

"Okay, okay. Fine, I'll try my best. I'm tired myself but there's no promises." She gave in, defeated as she pushed her tools and wires and various mechanical pieces to the center of the table where they wouldn't fall off. Try her best? Cloud knew from experience that staying up for three days would have him passing out standing up, let alone laying anywhere comfortable. Hell, he was about that tired now and he had managed a little sleep the night before.

"Good, try your best. I don't want to call Barret for backup. He was originally going to come in here and probably give you a long speech about sleep. I've heard it before, not fun." The blonde half joked, but his humor fell on deaf ears as the woman rubbed her eyes and gave him a look.

"Not fun at all." Stella echoed, pushing her chair back as she stood up. Given the lack of space in the room, it was a little claustrophobic when two people were standing. The woman pulled from her pocket the muddied contraption that she had dropped earlier and pulled out some smaller, unfamiliar things.

That's right, she had wanted to show him the new stuff. Even though he would rather go back into the lounge space and strike conversation with a cranky Cid than try to process technological information, he still felt inclined to bring it up. Inclined with his own curiosity or maybe feeling guilty for not giving Stella a few minutes of attention after she had spent hours and hours building something for the team. He paused and lingered, his tiredness slowed him down but ultimately he sighed out his question.

"Did you wanna give a tech demo or do you wanna wait for tomorrow?" With his question, the woman brightened up but her excitement faded after a moment. She pulled the safety glasses from her face and gave him a calculating look as she set the glasses on the table with the smaller contraptions.

"No… it's okay. You wanna wait until tomorrow and I'm not gonna bother you with it right now." She decided in a low voice.

Cloud almost went with her suggestion, opting to cover it all in the morning but a thought stopped him. It wasn't a bother, was it? He was paying her to do this and she had way ahead of schedule. He owed it to her for her hard work and yet, in his exhaustion it felt burdensome. He didn't want to give that impression. He knew what it was like to feel like a bother, especially when he was in a new place with new people. A flash of recollection touched him, one of the first nights he was in the new barracks in Junon for cadet training. He knew that feeling.

"It's not a bother. Let's see what you've got." Cloud settled. Sure, he was tired, but this was part of it, being a member of a team. Stella perked up and scooped up the grape size metal discs, holding them up like gil coins.

"Really?" She half asks through a small smile. He answered with a nod and she cleared her throat, presenting the coin like contraptions before him. "Okay, let's start with the new things. These small little dots are miniature versions of the pancake model I showed you before. They are also essentially tiny, compressed tesla coils, but not strong enough to do any significant damage. I had to make a new kind of battery for this that was small enough but strong enough to matter." her explanation began, and so far it wasn't as mentally taxing to process as he thought.

"Mako batteries? I can smell it." Cloud affirmed in Stella's small pause. She gave a halfhearted laugh.

"One exploded yesterday… but I've figured out the build so that won't happen again." She admitted and then turned the disk over. "On the side with the coil, it has a magnetized surface so that it will stick to metal and armor. See?" With that, she held it up at his shoulder level, a little too close for comfort.

Letting it slip from her grip, it leaped over his shoulder and met the metal of his sheathed sword with a clank. He warily reached back to try to pluck it from his sword, in case it had a malfunction. It came off in his palm and he pulled it around to inspect it. Rolling it about in his hand, he made an observation that he unfortunately said out loud.

"This coil looks like a robot's butthole." As soon as he said it, a silence lingered and Stella stared at him.

"A what? Did you seriously call my hard work...?" Her tone was astonished as her statement trailed off and Cloud cringed. Oops. To his surprise she covered her face and snorted into her hands, setting off a quick fit of hysteric giggles. "That's so dumb but so perfect!" She exclaimed after her laugh, pulling her hands from her face to rub at her eyes.

"What? What's perfect?" He didn't understand what she meant but she took a breath and plucked the tech up from his palm where it still lay.

"I'm sorry, maybe I'm beyond tired but "butthole" is the perfect name for this. I try to come up with names that don't sound ridiculous or that contain half the alphabet." She explained and then her eyes lit up, "Aha! Butthole because it's a pain in the ass to be shocked with. Trust me, I know." She admitted, studying it in her hand. Cloud wasn't thrilled about the name.

"You're naming it butthole?" He asked and she shook her head and pointed at him.

"No, you named it butthole. Congrats, now you have to deal with that." She laughed and let her voice drift into a sigh. "It really is a pain in the ass. Not fatal but I don't wanna be shocked with this again." Stella muzed.

"Oh yeah? Bugs in development?" Cloud asked and she shook her head.

"No, testing. Human tested, human approved." She confirmed. What did she mean, that she tested it on herself? Cloud winced inwardly. Surely not, she wouldn't be that reckless, right?

"Huh, what do you-" he began to ask and she pulled the sleeve of her sweater up. On her arm, faint red circular marks scattered across and tinted her dark skin. Some were more faint than others and one was particularly red and agitated, perhaps newer than the rest.

"Testing was a bitch but I had to make sure it wasn't too much or too little. That one there was a tad too much." She pointed out the reddest mark, "The burns look bad but the shock is supposed to be in the right voltage to make it tough to move your muscles, like a tazer or defibrillator. I just have to choose what kind of controller to use for this. Maybe a switch on before use?" She had trailed off at the last part, logging her thoughts aloud.

Cloud watched as she yanked the sleeve back down and placed the _butthole_ on the table with the rest of them, three in total. The blonde was at a small loss for words, his focus on the now hidden away dots of burns on the woman's arms. She was so nonchalant about it. It was concerning. The woman stared over the collection of work and bit the inside of her cheek.

"That's all, besides me fixing the contraption that you saw in action at the inn, which I do have a new name for. What do you think, is this useful or not so much?" Her question didn't stray his focus and normally he would make a statement that she did a good job or that everything is useful in AVALANCHE but such a statement couldn't find it's way to his tongue.

"I think you shouldn't test weapons on yourself." He gave his opinion and she gazed up at him, her brown eyes displayed her averse opinion for a moment until they softened.

"Probably not, it's not fun." She began, "What else am I supposed to do then? I have to test things." She asked more to herself than to him. He shrugged and thought about it for himself. She was right but it wasn't the best way, Cloud was sure. He didn't know the right way, but seeing someone treat themselves as a lab rat was grossly troubling to him. If anyone knew the technicalities of their own creation, it was her but it didn't feel right.

"I don't know." He finally stated and a muteness dampened the room. After a moment, Cloud stifled a yawn and the woman shook her head.

"A problem for later. If I'm going to sleep, I might as well try now or else it may not happen. Can't keep you up too." Her last comment was made light when she gave an unexpected pat on his arm on her way past him. He nearly tripped over the work chair trying to move away from the door for Stella, but she hadn't noticed.

The light in from the kitchen was stark after standing in that room for so long. Barret glanced up from the bar where he was chatting with a now clean Tifa, her hair pulled into that intricate towel wrap that Cloud could never comprehend.

"Turning in for the night?" Barret piped up, his inquiry directed at Stella. She nodded and shut the work room door behind Cloud as he walked out.

"Yep! I've already called my bunk. Spoiler, it's a bottom bunk." Stella answered back, pausing in her step to do so.

"That's my kind of bunk! You rest up!" Barret encouraged.

"Goodnight! Sweet dreams!" Tifa chimed in, leaning on the bar from where she stood. Stella gave a wave and began down the hallway.

"You too, both of you!" she called and made her way off. In her absence, the blonde noticed that Cid, Vincent, and Red were all three gone.

Cloud recalled Cid saying something about wanting to catch up with old pals, so he could only imagine where he drug Vincent and Red. Cloud stood near the door and was brought back to reality when Barret held up an "okay" hand gesture.

"Good job man." The large man complimented, his cheery mood a sharp contrast to how grumpy he was on their hike back. Bowls of chili can really work wonders on a guy, Cloud thought. It reminded him that he hadn't finished his own bowl yet and the blonde made his way up to the bar. Maybe he would chat with Tifa and Barret for a little while until he crashed. Besides, he needed to talk about upcoming plans.

"So, what'd Stella have this time? Something cool?" Tifa asked, messing over her chili. A pack of crackers were laid next to her, nearing empty. Cloud knew that with the way Tifa ate crackers, this was probably her second bowl.

"Yeah, it's neato." Cloud gave, not sure how else to put it. If he tried to explain it, he might fumble the explanation and confuse everyone. He was sure he had a good enough grasp of what Stella had shown him, but he didn't want his recollection to consist of the word combo _shocky butthole_.

"Aw come on, neato? Seriously you can't think of a cooler word?" Barret mocked and he had a right to. Cloud will never live down being asked about how he felt about Marlene's cute birthday dress and saying it was "cool beans". Cloud opened his mouth to argue but Tifa interjected.

"Give us more than that. Is it something we can use?" Tifa asked, leaning on the counter and setting her spoon to the side.

"Definitely. It's basically a taser the size of a gil coin that can stick to metal. She even stuck it to my sword." He relented and gave his own translation of what it is.

"Oh, so you need to be careful." Tifa gave vaguely. Cloud nodded.

"I'll say. Stella says its a pain in the ass to get zapped with." He added and Barret leaned on the barstool.

"Does it have a cool name? If not, I can name it something like… Thunder-Bit or…" Barret trailed off and looked up at the ceiling before finishing defeatedly, "Well I don't know but I could think of some things." With that Tifa hid a giggle.

"No, it's already got a name." Cloud stopped Barret. He was sure naming submissions weren't something their new member needed right now. Tifa perked up.

"Oh, what's it called?" Tifa asked and Cloud paused.

Embarrassed, his ears tinged red and he cleared his throat. He wasn't in the mood to explain what on earth he said to earn the mini taser its name. No, that could be addressed later. For now, Cloud just wanted to tune out and go to sleep. He didn't want to think too much about tomorrow yet and instead wanted to enjoy the company of his two friends while he could and they had teased him enough for the evening.

"I don't remember." Cloud lied.


End file.
